A Second Chance
by MusicRocks807
Summary: Something happens to Shira that she never would have expected. Raz and the crew have to make some very serious choices, that may change their lives for ever... sequel to Peaches' Sweet Sixteen, Wish Upon a Star and Dreams. Please Read and Review! XD Oh, and it's rated T for blood and violence. I don't own Ice Age and I never could/will! I only own my OC's!
1. Arguements and Enemies

**Here it is folks! The long-awaited sequel to Peaches' Sweet Sixteen and Wish Upon a Star! Hope you all enjoy it! Couldn't resist bringing the pirates back in, I think I caught Pirate-Fever from MBSAVfan1! Anyway, the surprises (well, most of them) are revealed in this chapter. **

**To anyone who hasn't read Peaches' Sweet Sixteen, Wish Upon a Star or Dreams: you will probably need to read them to understand this. Dreams isn't as necessary, but you definitely need to read the other two or you'll be sat reading this thinking 'What in the world is the author talking about?' although you'll probably end up thinking that anyway, but there's less chance if you read those first.**

**Disclaimer: HA! I put this in the summary for once! Remembering to do stuff is so useful!**

**Oh, and I'm still gonna do that thing where it's present tense if it's a specific character's POV, and past tense if it's not. Again, it's just easier that way.**

Raz awoke with a start, and her arms instantly tightened. But she wasn't holding anything. She suddenly remembered that there was no sleek, warm, silver sabre lying there, and that there never would be again. She sighed, fighting back tears. She'd sworn to herself never to cry over Shira's leaving ever again, as she'd promised the tigress that she was okay with it, and didn't want to break the most important promise she had made to the most important animal in her life. She loved all the crew, but if it wasn't for Shira she'd have never made it through all the years of training and learning the ropes of the ship. The kangaroo sighed and stretched out her limbs. She'd fallen alseep in an awkward position, and although she didn't know it yet, she'd slept like that for a long time.

"Jus' a bad dream, Raz," she muttered to herself "Iss' jus' a bad dream."

Raz gasped in horror. A bad dream?! That must mean she'd fallen asleep! Falling asleep when she was on lookout! That wasn't at all like her! She sighed again and held her head in her hands. She knew exactly why the Shira dreams had come back; Gutt had a revenge plan. Gupta used to have dreams about the silver sabretooth as well, he always used to tell Raz about them, and although there was no actual proof, the kangaroo had a strong feeling Squint missed her too. Hurriedly, Raz woke the other shipmates, apologsing about the late start to the day.

"You oughtta be sorry, Raz!" snapped Squint accusingly, his eyes wet and glossy.

"He dreamt about Shira last night, I heard him mumbling about her," explained Gupta "So did I, actually. I can't get her out of my head recently..."

"Ugh, add me ta tha' lis', mate!" grumbled Raz, rubbing her eyes sleepily. She took a deep breath and hopped over to the Captain's sleeping quarters. She gently shook his shoulder, hoping that he might have died in his sleep somehow, maybe as an extra aftermath to the Siren attack, but she knew that her hopes were fruitless. In moments his eyes snapped open, anger blazing deep inside them.

"Raz! It's midday! What do you have to say for yourself?!" he shouted furiously. The rest of the crew - even Flynn - froze in shock, fearing for Raz's safety. Since they lost Shira, they'd all come to realise just how easily one can lose a person they care about. Raz swallowed hard before explaining.

"Well, Cap'n, Ah wasn't tired an' Ah thought ya'll might need the rest 'cause of the raid we're plannin' an' all," she gabbled quickly, making something up on the spot. Gutt grunted in disbelief.

"Right well, I guess that'll do for now. Have a sleep then if you've been up all night and haven't slept at all," Gutt told her, clearly not believing a word she'd said. Raz nodded obediently and hopped past the crew to the lower deck.

"Bad, bad girl!" taunted Squint childishly.

"Shuddup Eastah Bunny," muttered Raz darkly as she hopped past, to which Squint's ears shot up straight and his nose started twitching. A small smile spread across Raz's lips. Since Shira had left with that herd, someone had to take over the role of the person to make fun of Squint! That someone just happened to be Raz. She slumped into a corner of the cell that would soon be inhabited by her younger sister, once they found her of course, and drifted off to sleep, hoping against hope that the dreams wouldn't come back. No such luck.

* * *

Shira sobbed into her paws, shuddering slightly.

"No," she moaned "No, no, no! Not the dreams again! Please not the dreams again!"

They'd come back. The awful dreams she'd tried to get rid of since she joined the herd had returned, and started coming on strong again. She sniffled into her paws again, tears rolling down her cheeks. She felt something furry and comforting on her shoulder, but it only made her feel worse. She missed her big sister, and her big brothers. She missed all of them.

"Shira?" she heard a familiar - and slightly annoying - voice say. She sighed.

"Hey Sid," she said, trying in vain to act as if she was okay "What's up?"

"What's up with you? You've been lying here crying!"

"Not much, just some bad dreams..."

"Aww, poor you!" Sid attempted to hug the sabre "Come here, let old Sid give you a hug!"

"Yuck, no thanks!" retorted Shira, but she hugged the sloth breifly anyway. After a short amount of time, Shira released the sloth and pushed him away. She then climbed to her feet and shook her head fiercely.

"What are you doing?" asked Sid curiously, his head tilted to one side. Shira smiled pathetically at him.

"Trying to shake the bad dreams away," she admitted a little sheepishly, blushing as she thought it sounded stupid. That's what her mother used to say to her before she lost her, and Shira later went on to tell Raz the same thing every single time she had a bad dream. Surprisingly, Sid patted her on the back comfortingly and nodded.

"I understand Shira, it's not weird. I do the same thing!"

"No offense sloth, but the fact that you do it makes it weird!"

Sid was, as usual, unaffected by her insults, and carried on.

"That little trick helped me through all the nights that I woke up crying because I missed my family," he sighed softly. Shira's ears pricked up then. She didn't actually know anything about Sid's family, beside the fact that he and Granny had been abandoned together.

"Sid," she whispered gently "Would you mind telling me about your family?"

"Nah, of course not," answered Sid, pleased that someone was showing in an interest in him "I'll tell you all about them!"

"Thanks a lot!" Shira smiled at the smelly sloth. He got on her nerves, but she was desperate to know his life story, just out of pure curiousity.

"No problem, it's nice that someone actually cares!" replied Sid, patting her on the head "But I'll tell you on the way to the clearing, okay? The herd's all waiting there, just hanging out."

Shira nodded, and the two started walking, Sid telling her about his life before he'd even met Manny and Diego, something that is so secretive even the original herd members didn't know!

* * *

Manny, Ellie, Diego, Crash, Eddie and Granny were all sitting around a campfire, all minus Diego enjoying some lunch. He was waiting for Shira, so that they could hunt together. They were chatting about nothing in particular, mostly random things like the weather or an interesting conversation that they'd recently had with somebody. Crash and Eddie were just interrogating Diego about his 'night alone' with Shira, when a very strange sight greeted them. Sid and Shira walked into the clearing side-by-side, talking happily about Sid's family, which would've been surprising in it's own, as Sid rarely spoke of his family. They both waved as they came towards the herd, Sid flopping down lazily beside Granny, while Shira sat down gracefully beside Deigo, who licked her fondly behind the ears. She batted his face with her paw, but cuddled into him all the same. He wrapped his forelegs around her and purred contently, causing Crash and Eddie to shriek with laughter.

"Ew, get a cave!" shouted Crash.

"Yeah, didn't you two have enough fun last night?" agreed Eddie, laughing even harder as Diego and Shira both blushed at the same time.

"Hey, give it a rest you two!" said Ellie sternly, glaring at her brothers but holding back laughter. Even Manny sniggered a little bit, but he shut up as soon as he looked Diego in the eyes.

"Yeah Ellie's right," he said, trying to help his friend out "Let Diego have some fun with his siren!"

"Siren?" repeated Shira, her eyes wide with pleasure at the thought of being Diego's siren. Diego went bright red and hid his face.

"Yeah! After you saved us from the pirates, we sailed for days-"

"Hours, Sid, not days!" interrupted Manny, rolling his eyes.

"Whatever. Anyway, we ended up in Siren Cove-" continued Sid, before Shira interrupted him.

"Wait a second, Siren Cove?!" she exclaimed "That place is real?!"

"Of course it is!" Sid paused to giggle at Diego, who gritted his teeth and mouthed 'Please stop!' to the sloth "And you'll never guess who Diego saw!"

"Who?" asked Shira eagerly, even though she pretty much knew the answer, she wanted to hear it come out of someone else's mouth, just to make it more official. Sid smirked at Diego, then turned to Shira.

"You!" answered Sid, before Diego could stop him. Everyone went "Aww!" which only made Diego blush even more, and feel even more vunerable. That was the one thing he didn't like about spending time with Shira; she made him soft, she made him weak.

"No I didn't!" mumbled Diego, trying to save his pride. As if to prove his point, he released Shira and looked away from her.

"Huh?" Shira was confused. She was Diego's mate, he must've seen her! Right?

"No I didn't!" repeated Diego, louder this time. Soto had always taught the pack that for a male to show any break in their pride for a female was a weakness. Many of Soto's teachings had died away from Diego's mind long ago, but up until meeting Shira he hadn't even thought about any of the rules about females. He hadn't even spent any time with a female that wasn't his mother, except for one faded memory about a female sabre cub that had saved his life when he was younger... But he had no experience with females, so he went off what the pack had taught him.

"I didn't see Shira!" he denied it again, because everyone was giving him that 'Yeah, as if!' look.

"Well of course you did Diego!" insisted Manny, seeing Shira's crestfallen expression "You were mumbling her name in your sleep that night!"

"I was not!" Diego could actually feel his pride breaking "I ABSOLUTELY DEFINITELY DID NOT SEE SHIRA AS MY SIREN!"

Shira squeaked quietly beside him, trying to hold back her tears. Diego suddenly realised what he had done.

"Wait, Shira I-"

"Save it!" she snapped angrily, losing control of her tears.

"But I just-"

But he was too late. She was already gone. She ran and ran into the forest, losing her way but not caring.

* * *

Peaches' POV

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! I can't believe that just happened! Louis is pulling on my hair, but I think it might be because I'm swinging too fast in the trees and he's trying not to fall off my head. Right now, I don't care. No, I do care, Louis is the only friend I have left now, but just not as much. I can't believe Ethan! Stupid, stupid Ethan! I'm crying so hard and swinging so fast I don't even notice Auntie Shira until I crash into her. Oh, it would be her I ran into, wouldn't it?!

"Ugh... sorry Peach, didn't see you there..." she murmurs, rubbing her head with her paw, not meeting my eyes. Even though my own vision is still slightly blurred, I can tell she's been crying. A lot.

"Auntie Shira?" I ask softly, sensing that this is going to be a touchy subject "What's wrong?"

She mumbles something and starts crying quietly again, but it wouldn't take a genius to guess what the rough idea of it was.

"Uncle Diego?"

"Got it in one..." she sighs unhappily, nuzzling her head against my shoulder. I push my own worries aside for a moment and wrap my trunk around my auntie, holding her close. Louis drops down from my head and lands on Auntie Shira's back, and I know this because he manages to kick me in the face as he falls. I act like he didn't though, because Louis is very easy to upset, and I'm not the key concern at the moment. I decide it's also not a key concern to tell Auntie Shira what's wrong with me at the moment, as it involves her. Oh man, it was awful...

_Me, Ethan, and the Brat Pack were hanging out down at the Gyro-Drop. Steffie and Katie were having their go, when the platform tipped and they both fell down._

_"STEFFIE, BABE!" yelled Ethan, which stung a lot. The others were screaming from them too, and I joined in too, but I didn't even anticipate what Ethan would say next. We watched them drop to the ground, and waited in terror to see if they'd get up, which thankfully they did. Ethan turned to me, hatred blazing in his eyes._

_"This is _your _fault, Peaches!" he snapped angrily._

_"How is it my fault?!" I demanded, forgetting that I had a HUGE crush on him._

_"It's because of your stupid new aunt's fur! It's cursed!"_

_"That's ridiculous! If anything, Auntie Shira's good luck!"_

_"My parents warned me to stay away from the silver sabre with the cursed fur, and I ignored them!" groaned Ethan, still glaring at me._

_"Same here!"_

_"Me too!"_

_"I should've listened to my parents!"_

_I gawped in awe at my so-called friends as they blatantly insulted my amazing new aunt._

_"How dare you?!" I shrieked at them, tears forming in my eyes "Auntie Shira's great, and she's really sweet now! She's not cursed, or a bad luck charm, or anything else you might make up about her! And if you really think all that, I guess you're not my real friends after all! So goodbye!"_

_And I turned on my heels and stormed off. Louis followed close behind, after giving Ethan a good telling-off, which was both amazing and hilarious._

I sigh and try to push that horrid memory away for now; my auntie needs me. I hug her lovingly, murmuring a load of rubbish about how it'll all be okay, and all that junk that she definitely doesn't believe. She seems to have calmed down a little though.

"Thanks Peach," she sighs, smiling at me "And Louis, of course!"

He blushes from where he is sat on her head. I sigh.

"Yeah, Louis is very dependable," I say wistfully, glancing back in the direction of the Gyro-Drop. I feel kinda bad, but it's not my fault! Me and Louis told them not to go on it in the first place!

"Peaches?"

Oh shoot. I forgot that I was speaking out loud!

"Oh uhm, I was just... daydreaming..."

Auntie Shira doesn't look like she believes me, but she doesn't question me further. There's an awkward silence, that Louis was about to break, but suddenly something jumps out of the bushes. Actually, _someone. _

_"_Gutt!" screams Auntie Shira, eyes wide with fear. His crew are close behind, all armed of course, and I can't help but feel intimidated by Raz's spiral shell spear. Captain Gutt grinned maliciously at us, his eyes focusing on Auntie Shira hungrily.

"Hello again, Shira!" he held out his hand to her in offering "Did you miss us?"

"Yeah, of course I did!" she replies her voice dripping with sarcasm "I totally missed being starved, beaten and straight-out lied to!"

"Oh and we missed you!" drawled Gutt "We missed being betrayed by one of our own crew!"

He tries to tickle her under the chin but she snarls and bites his hand fiercely. He swears and slaps her, but she acts as if it doesn't hurt. She growls deeply, but he just laughs.

"Aww, still is violent and feisty as ever!" he cooes "Such a great example to set to these two young children!"

"Hey! We're sixteen!" I yell, and Louis nods along with me. Auntie Shira actually seems kinda affected by that comment though. She takes a deep breath to calm herself and turns to us.

"Alright, you two retreat! No violence!" instructs Auntie Shira, to which Louis and I nod. Gutt turns to Squint, looks him in the eyes and nods. Squint sighs and prepares to attack, but Auntie Shira leaps forward and whacks him with her paw. Apparantly she didn't pick up on the slightly hesitant sigh, because she hit him so hard he whizzes through the air so fast he hits Silas. They both collapse on the floor in a heap, groaning, while Auntie Shira casually inspects her claws.

"What happened to a non-violent retreat?" I ask cheekily.

"Do as I say, not as I do!" retorts Auntie Shira, waving us away with her paw "Now go!"

We do as we are told, but I regret it. As we leave, I hear Captain Gutt yell "Attack!"

"That can't be good..." says Louis nervously. I roll my eyes.

"Thank-you Captain Duh!" I snap back, but I'm not angry, just worried. And I should be. Several minutes later, as me and Louis hurry through the trees, I hear my only aunt scream in pain. I try to turn back, but Louis hangs from a lock of my hair and looks me in the eyes.

"Look Peach, the best thing we can do for her now is get help!" he tells me sternly. I nod numbly, and run as fast as I can.

* * *

Normal POV

Captain Gutt laughed cruelly.

"Thank-you Master Squint," he says, handing Squint his knife back "That'll do for now."

The pirates gathered around Shira, observing her as she bled. Gutt had slit a long line down Shira's back, right along her spine. Raz didn't think it had cut deep enough to hit bone, but she couldn't be sure. Shira moaned softly, a sound that made even Squint feel incredibly sorry for her. They'd never got along thatg great, but there was that brother/sister bond that he'd always tried to ignore.

"Captain?" asked Flynn "How're we gonna get Shira back to the ship? She can't walk!"

"She can't move either!" muttered Shira angrily, which thankfully only Raz heard.

"Ah'll carry 'er," offered Raz, acting as if she was doing the crew a big favour, not helping her sister and reducing her pain "But the weapons in ma pouch might cut 'er a lil' when Ah'm hoppin' coz they bounce a bit..."

"Great idea, Raz!" Gutt praised her, totally buying her act "And try to bounce extra-hard, okay?"

Raz nodded, but she had every intention to keep Shira safe. She carefully scooped the sabre up into her arms, holding her so that her back was facing the sky, so that the blood didn't run. Raz cradled her younger sister against her chest, and hopped as carefully as she could, trying to fool Gutt _and_ stop the weapons from hurting Shira.

"Just hop properly, Raz!" hissed Shira, but Raz shook her head.

"Not happ'nin' Sheila, Ah'm keepin' ya safe an' that's final!"

Shira sighed in defeat and snuggled into Raz lovingly. Whatever would ensue on this adventure, Shira was sure glad her older sister was going to be there with her.

**Ta-da! Did you like? Sorry if it's no good, it gets better as it goes along! Just perservere, okay? Thanks for reading and PLEASE REVIEW! I love reviews! They boost my self-esteem! Oh and DiegoxShira, I hope I did that scene the way you wanted, and if I didn't, sorry, I'll do a seperate one-shot of it if you want. Will try and update soon, but knowing me that might fail epicly. Anyway, like I said before, please review, and if you haven't read 'Christmas Fears' by MBSAVfan1 you're seriously missing out, but you'd better hurry up and read it before Christmas season is over! XD**


	2. Water and Realization

**Hiya! Couldn't stop myself from writing this, but I will update my other stories soon! Just love writing this, and anyway if the world does end tomorrow I want to post as much as possible. Personally, I don't believe it will, but that's just my opinion, I'm not having a go at anyone who does... okay, I messed that up so bad. Anyways, please enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't know why I bother to keep putting this, it's in the dang summary!**

Diego lay on his belly, trying to ignore Sid's pointless chatter. He'd attempted to go after Shira, but couldn't find her anywhere. He hoped she hadn't run into any danger, but Manny wouldn't let him go check again, just in case Shira wanted some time alone or something.

"- so yeah, I know that she means well and all but-"

"Sid." interrupted Diego.

"Yeah, buddy?!"

"Shut up."

"But, I'm halfway through a story!"

"Only halfway?!" exclaimed Manny "How long is this story?!"

"Well, actually it's-"

"YOU KNOW NO-ONE CARES ABOUT YOUR STUPID GRANNY, SID!" erupted Diego, bright red in the face with anger. Granny walked over to Diego and hit him hard with her cane.

"You watch your mouth, Lady!" she said angrily, hitting him again.

"I'M A DUDE!" snapped Diego, all patience gone. Just then, Peaches swung into the clearing, Louis on her head, clinging to her hair for dear life.

"Hey Peaches! There's my little-" began Manny, but he was cut off abruptly.

"No time for that! Captain Gutt is back!" announced Peaches "And he took Auntie Shira!"

"WHAT?!" Diego leapt to his feet so fast he landed wrong and promptly fell back down again.

"Hmm... maybe I didn't think that through very well..." murmured Peaches. Louis looked at her skeptically.

"Ya think?!"

"We have to go help her!" said Manny, grabbing Diego with his trunk "But running around in circles like a headless chicken isn't going to help anything!"

"I- okay, okay I know I'm freakin' out, I just don't want her to get hurt!"

"Alright, let's go look for then! In an _orderly _fashion!" Manny put extra emphasis on the last sentence, looking Diego in the eyes. Diego nodded, and ran into the forest, Manny, Sid and Granny close behind. Peaches stood there, rolling her eyes.

"Uhm guys? They're _that_ way!" she said, pointing behind her using her trunk. Embarressed, they turned around and ran in the right direction, Peaches and Louis in the lead. Diego just hoped that he wasn't too late to apologise and tell her that he loved her.

* * *

Raz hopped up on to the ship, quickly apologising under her breath as one of her fish-bone swords stabbed Shira's leg, which luckily the Captain didn't hear. He only saw the sword stab the sabre, and he gave Raz a nod of approval.

"Shoul' Ah take 'er down ta the cell now, Cap'n?" asked Raz hopefully. If Shira was locked in her cell, at least Gutt couldn't torture her. Raz and Gupta had inspected the entire cell earlier that day, so they knew that there were no hidden spikes or trap-doors or anything. Gutt nodded.

"Yes, just make sure she's tied up tight. She's a feisty little one, although she seems kind of worn out now, she wasn't too much trouble on the way..."

"That's 'cause Ah had a good grip on 'er, Cap'n. Ah threatened to cut 'er back again an' she behaved after that!"

Gutt nodded in approval again, and Gupta had to hold back his laughter up on the falgpole because he knew Raz was just kidding, he'd heard Raz and Shira arguing about whether or not Raz should actually hurt her. Raz cradled Shira against her chest, quickly stuffing some fruit i her puch as she passed the place where the food was kept. Shira whispered her thanks, and as soon as they got below deck, she snuggled into the kangaroo's purple fur and licked her neck. Raz giggled, and kissed Shira on the head. She lay the tiger down on the cold ice floor of the cell, laying the fruit in front of her, before grabbing some vines and a lot of leaves.

"What are you doing?!" asked Shira fearfully, trying to sit up but not succeeding. Raz placed a gentle hand on the sabre's shoulder.

"Calm down Sheila, Ah'm helpin' ya!" she whispered comfortingly "Jus' hold still, 'kay?!"

Shira nodded as calmly as she could, placing her full trust into her older sister. Raz carefully used the biggest leaf to dab up all the blood, before gently pouring a bit of clean water on the wound. She then used the blood-free side of the giant leaf to dry off Shira's back, lay down the rest of the leaves over the horrid gash, and started skinning a vine.

"Why are you doing that?" asked Shira cautiously, attempting to lift her head. Raz quickly stopped her, for fear that the leaves would move.

"Stay still Sheila! The leaves'll fall off of ya!" gasped Raz, patting the sabre's head before finishing off the first vine, which happened to be incredibly long and sturdy "An' Ah'm skinnin' the vines so they'll be softer on ya skin."

"Oh. Well, thanks," said Shira, smiling gratefully. Raz returned the gesture, wrapping the vine around Shira's stomach several times to hold the leaves in place.

"Not too tight, okay?" Shira looked Raz in the eyes, suddenly very serious. Raz nodded awkwardly.

"Yea, of course, Ah wouldn't 'ave it any other way..."

After she'd tied the vine, Raz told Shira to have some fruit.

"Now Sheila, Ah know ya're probably gonna say ya're not hungry or somethin', but Cap'n Cruel ain't gonna feed ya anythin' proper for a while, so ya'd better just eat up!"

"Actually Raz, I'm absolutely starving!" admitted Shira, biting into a mango. Raz laughed softly, even though she was kind of surprised at her younger sister's new appetite. She must have started eating more since she joined that herd...

* * *

Peaches, Louis, Diego, Manny, Sid and Granny thundered onto the beach, sending sand in every direction as they ran. A huge oce ship floated in the current, attached to the ledge with skulls-on-vines, which seriously creeped Peaches and Louis out. The whole crew, minus Raz, were gathered on the deck, watching the rescue party as they hurried to the water's edge.

Gutt was enjoying himself highly - seeing desperate families trying to save his prisoner always lifted his spirits - but one thing was on his mind. He couldn't see Diego, and considering he was the main reason that traitorous Shira left his pirate crew was to be with that mangy waste of fur, you'd have thought he would be there to save her. Unless they'd fought or something... oh well. He was Master of the Seas, why should he care about some stupid sabres and their love story?! He leapt into the air and grabbed the mast, hanging from it dramatically.

"Ahoy there! How's life been treating you and your unusual herd?" he called down to Manny, who rolled his eyes.

"Shut up, Captain Crazy! You and your floating petting zoo can just hand over Shira and get lost!" he shouted. Gutt pretended to consider it.

"Nah, I think we'll keep her for a bit. Or forever. Forever sounds good."

Just then, Raz hopped up from the lower deck, the weapons in her pouch clinking together frighteningly.

"The prisoner's all tied up Cap'n!" she reported "Tha' lil' Sheila ain't goin' anywhere anytime soon!"

"Great job Raz!" Gutt praised her, proud of how loyal he thought Raz was "Oh, and is there blood on that sword?"

"Uhm, she was bein' resistant Cap'n Gutt sir, an' Ah thought it would work if..."

"No, no! Brilliant idea Raz! Keep up the good work!" Gutt assured the kangaroo, who acted relieved, before quickly hopping towards the crew.

"Did you really attack Shira with ze sword, Raz?" asked Silas, who for once wasn't on the Captain's shoulder. Raz shook her head discreetly.

"Nah, course Ah didn't. Ah jus' said tha' ta get Gutt off ma back!" she replied with a wink, causing the bird to laugh softly. It spread like wildfire through the small crew, but luckily for Raz, the ignorant Captain didn't notice their whispering. He was far too busy taunting Manny and the herd, which seemed sadistic to Raz, but she wasn't stupid enough to speak up about it. Flynn was, though.

"Captain? Aren't we being kinda mean?" he asked harmlessly, waving one flipper in the air. Gutt angrily grabbed the elephant seal's nose and pulled him down, so that he could look him in the eyes.

"Of course we are, Mr. Flynn! We're pirates! Pirates _are_ mean!" he snapped furiously. Manny opened his mouth to shout something at the Captain, but remembered his daughter standing beside him and rethought what he was going to say.

"Listen, Monkey-Boy! We don't want any trouble from you and your dumb crew! We just want Shira back!" explained Manny, to be greeted by howls of laughter from Gutt and his crew.

"Yeah, of course! And then, we'll go to the island we raided before we came here and got the key part of my revenge and apologise to them for killing some of their family and friends, and destroying their home! Get real Jumbo, pirates do what they want!" hissed Gutt evilly. He would've gone on longer, but a fierce roar interrupted his thoughts. He looked to the ledge to see Diego running towards the ship.

* * *

Down below deck, Shira lay wound up in vines, struggling to sit up, when she heard a loud roar. She rolled her eyes, and bit into an apple. Somehow, she managed not to freak out and try to run and meet up with her mate again; she was still mad. But his roars comforted her, it was nice for her to know he did actually care. She was still wondering what all that rubbish was about how he didn't see her in Siren Cove... why didn't he just admit it? Was it that he loved her, but didn't love her enough? Or did he just not love her at all? These questions that raced through her mind were what held Shira in her place. Well, the questions and the vines that Raz had tied her up in, of course.

Suddenly, Shira groaned in pain and bit down on the apple again. She felt like she was going to throw up, but she still craved food. It was kinda weird, actually. She randomly started crying, which definitely scared her, as she thought the only possible reason that she could be upset was because of Diego. Diego... she hated him so much! And she started crying again, wondering what was wrong with her. She buried her face in her paws and got lost in thought.

And it dawned on her.

"No," whispered Shira, even though there was no-one around to hear her "No! It can't be! It's not possible!"

But somehow she knew it was.

* * *

Diego leapt forward at the ship, hoping that somehow he might be able to grab on. No luck. Gutt removed the vines attaching the ship to the ledge, and Diego just missed the ship as it sailed away. He fell down into the freezing water, cursing several times as he went under. He struggled to stay afloat, but despite his swimming knowledge from Sid, the current was far too strong and pulled him under very cruelly.

"DIEGO!" yelled Manny, while the other herd members remained speechless. Diego resurfaced just in time to watch the current pull the ship into open waters, possibly tearing him away from the love of his life forever. It was there and then that Diego gave up the fight. He allowed himself to be swallowed up by the waves, not caring anymore. Shira was gone... he had no reason to keep going.

"Uncle Diego!" wailed Peaches, tears filling her eyes and pouring down her cheeks. Diego heard her cry, and realised he did have other things in his life, and that the people he cared about could help him through his loss. He finally saw hope again. But, was he too late?

**Sorry if it's kinda short, I just couldn't really put any more without ruining the big surprise! So, what do you think is wrong with Shira? Is Diego too late to save himself? Is Shira gone forever? Will Gutt ever find out that his crew still care for Shira? You'll have to wait and see! Will try to update ASAP, but we might end up all dying tomorrow so that may be impossible. Once again, personally don't believe it, but may still happen!**

**Anyways, hope everybody likes, and please try and guess the answers to my questions! I love hearing what you guys think is gonna happen! And if you have any ideas for scenes or lines that you want added in then that's fine, just review or PM me and I'll try my best to put them in the story. Thanks for reading and please, please REVIEW! I love reviews so much! They make my day, really! XD**


	3. Rejection and Siblings

**Okay, before I put the proper authors note, can I just say OMG THE WORLD DIDN'T END! Yay! Sorry, it's just my friend was going on about how it was going to end all week, and she made me kinda nervous, so I'm so glad it didn't! Oh, and school finished for Christmas today so YAY for that too :D**

**Anyway, you guys all came up with great guesses, and loads of people guessed the right answers to the questions, which is good because it means that it was clearer than I thought... woohoo! Oh, and Angelotti pointed out to me that the way Raz speaks is kinda hard to understand. If there's anything she says that you don't understand, PM me and I'll explain it to you :)**

**Hope you all enjoy, and there's a new OC in this chapter. All credit for the new OC goes to my BFF, who came up with their name, their role in the story and the way their introduced. Again, hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I really do not know why I still put this. There really is no point whatsoever.**

Diego's POV

Ow. Ow. Ow. Think I'm in pain? Congratulations. My whole body aches all over, but my heart and lungs definitely hurt the worst. I must've swallowed half the waves in that stupid ocean, and it hurts even to breath the tiniest breath. Every dull thud of my heart hurts more than the last, but there's an extremely short and non-scientific reason for that. I'm in love. And my love is gone. Forever.

"Uncle Diego? UNCLE DIEGO!"

Great, now my ears are ringing too. Lovely.

"Geez Peach... did you have... to shout that down my ear?" I groan weakly, my head spinning. My already deafened ears are then greeted by a chrous of happy shouts and cheers. I don't care enough to actually listen to what they're cheering. Yeah, I know that's mean, but I just nearly drowned! I make a mental note to tell Sid that I told him so; I've always known water was bad!

"Thank you so much Mikayla!" says Manny, sounding very grateful. Mikayla? Who's Mikayla?

"No worries, I wasn't just gonna let him drown!" answers a female voice. Oh. I guess that's Mikayla. So, did she save me? It certainly seems like it, because everyone else is thanking her and she keeps insisting it was nothing, so unless I've been unconscious for a really long time and everyone somehow managed to lose their minds, I owe my life to this Mikayla girl. I try to open my eyes, but decide against it as I am lying on my back looking at the sky and sun is very bright.

"Diego! Diego!" chants Sid irritably, shaking my shoulder. I can't even tell him to go away, because as he's shaking my shoulder he's sending tremours of pain through my whole body, and intensifying the aches in my bones. Thankfully, Mikayla seems to know a lot about this sort of stuff, because she pulls Sid away from me.

"Don't!" she frets "You'll hurt him!"

"Don't worry Mikayla, he already has!" I grunt angrily. I hear a soft "Aww!" and then get a pleasant surprise. Mikayla - at least I hope it's Mikayla! - licks my face long and slow, which despite the painful memories of Shira it dredges up, is actually quite comforting. She must be a sabre; her lick feels the same as my mate's. Well, I guess we weren't proper mates, because we never had cubs or anything, but we were planning to! Before Gutt got her!

Mikayla rolls me onto my side so the sun isn't in my eyes, which is great because it means I can open them and see this new sabre! I'm defintely surprised by what I see! Mikayla's pelt is a few shades lighter than mine, but just as smooth and silky, and her eyes are a rich hazel. She reminds me a lot of Shira when it comes to muscle and shape; they're very similar. Her claws look very sharp, but thankfully aren't stained with blood or anything. Her canines are longer than Shira's, but a tiny bit shorter than mine.

"Any better?" she whispers into my ear, nuzzling me kindly.

"Not really, I feel like I'm dying - inside and out," I sigh weakly.

"I meant mentally,"

"Oh, well in that case... still no. I lost my mate today," I explain, feeling bad for poor Mikayla who I probably just offended quite a lot.

"Oh! You poor thing!" she exclaims, cuddling me gently. It's nice, but I can't help thinking about how much Shira would hate this, and it feels so much like I'm cheating on her, even though I'll probably never see her again, and me and Mikayla aren't even together, it just does. I'll never be happy without her...

* * *

Normal POV

Shira lay on her side, resting her head on her paws as she slept. Raz stood at the bottom of the staircase, watching her younger sister sleep. She'd had to fasten the cell shut (which basically meant that she'd looped a vine through the handles of the ice-door and knotted it so tight she might have a problem untying it), but the door was see-through, so she could still make sure her little sis was alright. Right about then, Shira grunted in pain and sat up, holding her stomach.

"Sheila?" asked Raz uncertainly "Ya doin' okay there?"

"Oh, yeah, fine," mumbled Shira, but Raz didn't believe her "I'm good."

"No ya ain't!"replied Raz, but Shira didn't answer "Aw c'mon, tell ya big sista wha's the mattah!"

Shira smiled slightly when Raz said they were sisters, as it was nice to know she still thought they were that close, because Shira thought that too. Raz frowned though, because she knew Shira was hiding something.

"Sheila Ah can tell ya in pain! Jus' tell meh wha's up!" begged Raz, her hands pressed against the ice-door, showing just how much she really wanted to know. Shira sighed, but shook her head, dismissing the subject. Raz took a deep breath, and quickly untied the vine and opened the door.

"Why'd you do that?" asked Shira, sinking her claws into the ice to make sure Raz knew she wasn't going to run away. Raz smiled awkwardly.

"Well, Ah wanna give ya a hug, Sheila! Make ya feel betta!"

"Oh okay," Shira was slightly surprised, but was glad Raz wanted to cheer her up "Come here then!"

Raz laughed and hopped over to the sabretooth. She was just wrapping her arms around her little sister when she heard the flapping of wings and the sound of small claws scampering across ice. Gupta and Silas quickly rushed into the cell, Silas flying overhead while Gupta leapt through the air, before landing on Shira's stomach.

"Shira! I missed you!" exclaimed Gupta. Silas coughed loudly as he landed on Shira's shoulder. "Oh right, _we _missed you."

"Yeah, yeah that's great, Gupta, thanks guys," Shira muttered, placing a paw on her stomach and breathing slowly.

"What is ze matter, _petite soeur_?" asked Silas worriedly, lying a wing on Shira's forehead to check if she had a temperature.

"She ain't tellin' meh, bu' Ah've been askin' an' askin'!" complained Raz, tickling Shira under the chin. Shira batted at Raz's arm with her free paw, but smiled all the same.

"It's just I've got really bad stomach pains," explained Shira, before glaring accusingly at Gupta "And Mr. Badger-Belly-Flop over here didn't exactly help!"

"Sorry!" said Gupta hurriedly, patting Shira's stomach as a sign of sympathy.

"Aww, they'll like that..." murmured Shira to herself.

"Huh?" Raz tried to meet her little sister's eyes.

"Oh, uhm... nothing," sighed Shira "It's not important."

"Well, 'kay Ah guess, if ya say so..." Raz's voice trailed off. Shira sighed again.

"You guys should probably get out of here before Gutt finds out. He seems to know everything these days."

The other three agreed, but promised to be back soon. Raz especially seemed hesitant to leave, but she knew that the Captain couldn't find out, or he'd kill Shira there and then, just for the fun of it. After giving Shira one more hug, Raz left with Gupta and Silas, a plan forming in her devious brain.

"Don't ya worry, Sheila," she whispered to nobody "Ah'll be back sooner than ya think!"

* * *

Manny, Sid, Granny, Peaches (with Louis on her head) and Diego following behind, with Mikayla supporting him, of course, were all heading back to the clearing where the herd slept. They had been extremely lucky finding that clearing actually; there was a cave for the sloths, a cave for the mammoths and possums(with an indoor tree, awesome!), a cave for the sabres, and a very large cave that was empty. Ellie had returned from her day of relaxation, and the possums had come back from their day hanging out with Buck, who was also back at the clearing. They gawped at Diego and Mikayla, but didn't say anything, as Diego was in obvious amounts of pain.

"Where's your cave?" asked Mikayla, looking around. Diego pointed it out, and she helped him inside.

"Home sweet home..." muttered Diego sarcastically, trying to act as if a million-and-one memories about his lost mate hadn't just rushed into his brain.

"This your bed?" asked Mikayla, gesturing to the large, moss-covered rock that took up a lot of the cave. Diego nodded sadly, but tried to jump up anyway. Mikayla had to help him, but she didn't mind. Diego lay in his usual sleeping spot, stroking the empty space beside him wistfully, knowing it would never be filled again.

"I miss her so much, Mikayla..." he sighed, a single tear rolling down his cheek and landing on his paw. Mikayla didn't say anything, she just rubbed her head against his neck comfortingly. He smiled slightly, but it was mostly for Mikayla's benefit, he didn't actually feel happy. He knew he never could be. Suddenly, a purring filled the cave. He looked down, and realised that it was Mikayla. He just hoped the herd didn't get the wrong idea if they heard it... hopefully they wouldn't hear it. He couldn't believe _he _was even hearing it! He was just so confused...

**_That night_**

Diego curled up on the rock, leaving Shira's space empty out of respect. Mikayla, seemingly forgetting about Diego's lost mate, ran into the cave and jumped up onto the rock beside Diego. He knew it would be rude to tell her to go sleep somewhere else, but he didn't want her in Shira's space! It was as if she was trying to replace the silver tigress, and that was something Diego would not stand for! So when Mikayla tried to snuggle up to him, Diego pushed her away gently, but felt awful when he saw tears well up in her eyes.

"Sorry Mikayla, it's just I'm not ready to move on from Shira yet! I love her too much," he explained sadly, tears threatening to spill from his own eyes.

"No, no! I get it!" she said, her voice filled with sarcasm "I'll just wait and wait until you feel ready to move on, which you probably never will, but it'll be okay because when I die waiting you'll finally realise that I'm worth caring about!"

And with that she leapt up off the rock and stormed outside. Diego knew it would be polite and civil to follow her and make things right, but he didn't think of her in that way, and that wasn't his fault. He'd told her the truth; his heart belonged to Shira, and always would. It wasn't up to him, but he didn't want to change it, he really did love her. And even if he never saw her ever again, he would always love his little kitty.

* * *

Manny and Ellie were awake, looking at the stars together while Peaches, Buck and the possums slept in the tree.

"So, Gutt came back?" asked Ellie quietly. Manny nodded.

"Yeah. I can't believe that monkey's still alive!"

"Me neither, I was sure he was dead!" agreed Ellie, eyes wide with fear "Manny, what if... what if this is just the start of things?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what if Gutt's not the only villain we've faced who's still alive when we're all convinced they're dead? What if Soto's still alive? What if Rudy's still alive? What if-"

"So many questions! Soto is definitely dead Ellie, I watched him die! And do you really think - wait, Rudy is alive, isn't he?"

"Apparantly not, Buck said when he came back earlier that Rudy was officially dead. I didn't really want to ask."

Manny nodded, understanding perfectly. He'd had many of those moments, and he was sure there would be more.

"Look Ellie, it'll all be okay! We'll get Shira back, and I'll find a way to prove that all the other villains are dead!" Manny assured his mate. Ellie smiled softly.

"Thanks Manny," she sighed "We will find Shira, won't we?"

"Of course we will! This herd never gives up!" said Manny firmly. Ellie smiled again.

"Well, I'm heading up! See you in the morning!"

"Goodnight."

"Night."

Ellie wrapped her tail around the tree branch and swung herself up. She smiled as she drifted off to sleep, thinking about how much she missed Shira, but how glad she would be when the sabre returned. Manny stayed at the entrance to the cave, and was the only one to notice Mikayla run away crying. He waited until she was out of earshot, and padded over to Diego's cave. The sabre was lying in his usual spot, but the place beside him was tragically empty.

"Diego?" whispered Manny, so quiet the tiger hardly heard.

"Yeah, yeah, I ought to go apologise to Mikayla," sighed Diego "Well I'm sorry but I don't think I have anything to apologise for! She's trying to take Shira's place, and I'm probably never going to move on, I just love my kitty too much!"

Manny was actually kind of afraid, he'd only seen Diego shed one tear before, when Peaches was born, but now the sabretooth was properly crying. He awkwardly placed his trunk on Diego's shoulder, but it didn't do much.

"We'll find her Diego!" said Manny firmly "I promise that!"

"Thanks buddy," Diego gave his mammoth friend a watery smile.

"Hey, do you want to come and sleep in our cave tonight? You know, away from the memories?" asked Manny nervously. Diego tried to smile again.

"If that's okay..."

"Of course it is! We're a herd!"

Manny led Diego to the mammoth and possum (and now weasel) cave, where he would sleep until Shira returned. He lay down on the floor beside Manny, and watched his big poofy friend fall asleep. He sighed again, still feeling lonely. He felt something furry wrap around him, and realised Peaches was awake and trying to comfort him.

"It's okay Uncle Diego, Auntie Shira's tough! She's coming back no matter what!" Peaches reassured her uncle.

"Thanks Peach," Diego nuzzled his neice's trunk "Now go to sleep, you'll need your energy."

"Yeah, that's true," agreed Peaches "I'm gonna need a lot of energy when I confront the Brat Pack tomorrow!"

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing."

And they both fell asleep. The funny thing was, Peaches somehow managed to fall asleep with her trunk still wrapped around her uncle, a very cute sight.

**So, how was it? Good? Bad? Weird? Please tell me what you think of this story, even if it's bad, I really don't mind, I just want to know what everyone thinks! Like I've said, requested scenes, requested lines, just PM or review and tell me because I will add in any suggestions! Honest I will! Oh, and I got the idea of the indoor-tree from FunkyWatermelon's fanfic 'Sirens' which is a really great one-shot for all the Dira shippers, I seriously suggest reading it if you haven't already! Thanks for reading and please review! XD**


	4. True Friends and Bad Plans

**Hey, I'm back! I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and I also hope you enjoy this chapter! BTW, thinking of starting a new fic (ONLY after I finish one multi-chapter though, because I honestly can't keep up with my stories right now!) about when Shira and the pirates were kids growing up on the ship. What do you think? Good idea? Bad? Just tell me your opinion! :)**

**Oh, and I'm glad to see so many of you don't like Mikayla! Funnily enough, neither do I! And Ice Age Watermelon (epic penname BTW), I totally agree, DIRA FOREVER! ;) **

**Hope you all enjoy! :D**

Raz sat up and rubbed her eyes, as it was only early and she was extremely tired. She saw the Captain standing at the bough of the ship; since she'd fallen asleep the last time she was on lookout, Gutt had decided to take it upon himself to watch for any threats. She swallowed, guilt flooding her mind at what she was going to do. She just had to keep thinking that it would work out better for her sister in the long run, at least, she hoped it would. The kangaroo clambered to her feet and hopped down to the lower deck, trying to be quiet enough not to wake the shipmates or disturb the Captain.

Shira was fast asleep too, lying on her side because it just hurt her too much to lie on her stomach. She groaned quietly in her sleep, something that only made Raz feel worse about what she would have to do. Carefully, Raz untied the vines that held the ice door shut, purposely fraying them a little with a bone sword and leaving them hanging from the handles so that it looked like they had been savagely cut with claws. She then opened the ice door just enough for Shira to fit through, and backed away. The kangaroo then threw several small ice pebbles at the sleeping sabre, awakening her with a start. She growled out of habit, and Raz took that as her cue to retreat. Shira only just saw the kangaroo turn and hurry up to the upper deck, and not realising it was Raz, instinctively chased after her. Feeling guilty as anything, Raz flopped back down in her sleeping spot and pretended to be asleep, knowing that the first part of her plan had worked.

Shira ran up above deck, obviously not remembering to be quiet and waking the crew. Despite the dire situation she had found herself in, Shira couldn't help but find the reactions she got from the crew extremely funny, especially as Squint and Gupta both managed to run into the mast in their panic. Gutt, on the other hand, had a very non-comical reaction. He grabbed Shira by the throat and pinned her against the mast, squeezing her neck painfully.

"And what are you doing out of your cell, Kitty?" he hissed scarily, awaiting an answer that he didn't get "Oh, giving your Captain the silent treatment are we?"

"Uhm, Gutt?" said Raz fearfully "Ah don't think she can breathe Cap'n. Ya've got a tight 'old on 'er neck, mate, so she can't talk or anythin'."

"Fine," Gutt growled, loosening his grip ever so slightly "And now will you talk, Kitty-Cat?"

"Don't... call me... Kitty..." gasped Shira, barely able to breathe. Gutt chuckled darkly, and his crew joined in, but their laughs were fake. They knew that Gutt had full intentions of punishing their poor little sister, and they also knew they couldn't do a thing to stop him.

"Answer my question! Why were you out of your cell?" he repeated. Shira caught Raz's eye as the kangaroo mouthed "I'm sorry!" and, thinking that Raz had merely forgotten to close the ice door, winked at her sister before looking the Captain in the eye.

"Why did you think I was out?" she jeered, with as much attitude as she could while she still couldn't breathe very well "I was escaping, duh!"

"You think you're _so _cool, huh?" Gutt gritted his teeth and snarled at Shira, who smirked.

"Yeah actually, I thought that was a pretty good comeback."

"Well, since you want to be cool, let me give you a hand," he replied, grinning evilly. He tied a vine to her back leg, and suddenly threw the sabre overboard into the freezing ocean. He let her sink into the cruel waves for a while, before yanking the vine hard and pulling her back up to the deck. She coughed and coughed as she lay on the ice, as she'd swallowed a lot of the salty water because she hadn't held her breath in time. Raz watched with regret as Gutt laughed at her unfortunate little sister.

"This is all mah fault..." she sighed, but Silas, who was on her shoulder, shook his head.

"No it isn't Raz," he assured her "You can't be blamed for ze Captain's cruel actions. He is ze Master of ze Seas, there's nothing we can do to stop him from doing whatever he wants."

"Bu' if it wasn't for me, Shira wouldn't 'ave been out of 'er cell an' the Cap'n wouldn't be punishin' 'er!" whispered Raz quickly, her eyes quickly filling with tears. Silas shushed her frantically, knowing that if Gutt heard they'd both be in big trouble.

"Be quiet, _soeur_!" he whispered "If ze captain hears, he will have our skins!"

Raz knew he was right; she was just scared that the Captain would have Shira's.

* * *

Diego groaned as someone shook him awake. He also wasn't best pleased to find out it was Mikayla.

"Oh, you're awake," she commented.

"I am now!" grumbled Diego groggily, sitting up.

"I just came here to tell you," Mikayla paused, apparently for effect "That you have no idea how to treat a lady!"

"And I'd just like to tell you," Diego also paused, blatantly mocking her "That you can't take a hint! I don't like you! Not in 'that' way, not in any way! You're annoying, stubborn and downright insensitive! I lost the love of my life yesterday, and all you did was try and replace her!"

"I'd like to point out that you would've lost your _whole _life yesterday, if it wasn't for me!"

"She _was _my whole life Mikayla!" snapped Diego "And now she's gone, probably forever and you don't seem to care!"

"Well, why should I? All she's ever done for me is steal the heart of the most handsome male sabre on the island and drown it in the ocean!"

"I'm the _only _male sabre on the island, you idiot! And she didn't steal my heart; I gave it to her because I love her!"

"I still don't like her."

"Well I still don't like you!"

"I'll bet she didn't like you either, Diego! I bet she only became your mate because like you said you are the only male on the island of our species!"

"How dare you!" hissed Diego darkly "Shira was – and still is – everything to me, and I am to her! And you know what else? I don't think you should even _be _on this island, then everything would be just fine! I wouldn't have to put with you for the rest of my life, and Shira, if we ever find her, wouldn't constantly have competition! Not that you are any competition to her, I'd rather have a Kitty than a Cow anyway!"

"I'm unhappy!" declared Mikayla snobbishly, as if expecting Diego to care.

"Well what do you want me to do about it?! And you'll never find happiness if you stay here! You have to leave!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" snapped Mikayla, before leaving the cave. Peaches, now awake, dropped from her tree branch and tilted her head to one side as she watched Mikayla flee.

"You know, you were kinda mean to her," she told her uncle.

"Yep," he answered.

"She deserved it."

"Yep."

"But she's gonna keep coming back, right?"

"Yep."

They sighed simultaneously, neither thrilled at the idea of Mikayla's return.

* * *

Raz sighed as she watched Gutt come back up to the top deck. She knew that if her plan worked, she would have to find a way to reduce the obvious pain Shira would be in. Cautiously, she hopped up to the Captain, who was wiping blood off his hands. She groaned inwardly, knowing that she would have to make that up to her sister at some point in the near future.

"Gutt?" she asked hesitantly "Ya know how Sheila got out of the cell?"

"Yes, Raz?" hissed Gutt, expecting her to confess.

"Well, Ah was thinkin' i' might be a good idea ta have a guard permantly watchin 'er ta stop 'er escapin' again."

"Alright," agreed Gutt "Would you be willing to do that?"

"Ah guess so," sighed Raz, pretending it was the biggest chore in the world "If i' helps the ship then sure, Ah'll do i'."

"Now that's a good crew member," Gutt praised her, pushing her in the direction of the lower deck. Raz nodded and hopped down to her sister's cell. Part two of her plan had worked perfectly, now for part 3: Get her little sister to forgive her.

* * *

Shira lay on her side, her back to the ice door on purpose. Raz sighed. She didn't exactly _regret _telling Shira about her little plan and what she'd done, but she felt so bad about it she thought it might've been better if she hadn't told her. Raz knew she could've thought her plan through more, she'd just been desperate to stay with her sister. Finally, she snapped.

"C'mon Sheila, Ah know tha' ya mad at me. But talk ta me all ready!" she begged. Shira completely ignored her, but it wasn't only because she was mad. She'd felt sick the entire time the pirates had held her prisoner, and Gutt's violent pattern of kicking her, cutting her and slamming her against various surfaces definitely didn't help. Feeling her stomach lurch, Shira quickly turned to the small hole in the ice floor that was specifically designed in case she was sick. She emptied the contents of her stomach down the small hole, and gagged at the awful taste in her mouth.

Raz silently slipped open the panel that the crew were supposed to use to give Shira food and water, and slid a turtle-shell filled with clear water into the cell.

"Thanks," whispered Shira weakly, sipping at the water. Once she had filled her mouth, she spat the water into the hole, to get rid of the taste, before drinking.

"Wha' was tha' 'bout?" asked Raz curiously, her golden eyes filled with worry.

"Dunno. Guess it was just seasickness or something," lied Shira, shrugging it off. But she knew why she was feeling sick, and why she was always hungry; she just didn't want to tell the pirates…yet.

"Nah i' wasn't," replied Raz, definitely doubtful "Ah've been at sea with ya all mah life near enough, an' ya 'aven't gotten seasick once! Well, unless the Cap'n made ya eat eel, but tha' is the only time!"

"You know me too well, Raz!" sighed Shira wistfully, gazing at her own reflection in the ice floor. Raz was at a loss for words. She just sat there and watched her younger sister fall asleep again.

* * *

Diego lay on his belly in the clearing, basking in the sun. The other members of his herd were off doing various things, but he didn't really care what. Despite the bright sunny day and activeness of his family, Diego couldn't find that happy feeling. Louis burrowed past the sabre and into the mammoth cave, obviously looking for Peaches. Diego counted down the seconds on his claws. _3, 2, 1…_

"Peaches?!" called Louis, burrowing back into the clearing.

"Gyro-Drop," Diego told the molehog. He watched as Louis shouted "Thanks!" and shot off in the direction of the dangerous contraption.

"Granny? GRANNY?!" hollered Sid, running backwards into the clearing.

"Apple trees."

"Thanks Diego!" called Sid as he ran off to find his granny. Ellie stumbled into the clearing next, searching for her brothers.

"Crash? Eddie" she shouted as she searched.

"Launching themselves from trees again."

"Thank-you Diego!"

Diego sighed and rested his head on his paws. He stared into the distance, watching the horizon, trying to spot Gutt's huge ship, even though he knew it was long gone. He couldn't stop himself from thinking how much Shira would tease him and call him soft if he ever saw her again. But he was okay with it. In fact, he _wanted _it. He wanted her to make fun of him, to make him feel soft and vulnerable; he wanted her to make him her prey. He wanted her back. _Everyone else has someone, _he thought, _I'm all alone. I hate being alone…_

He remembered Shira cuddling up against him every night, remembered holding her when she cried after having a nightmare, remembered her licking his face when he was sad or annoyed, remembered every second he had ever spent with her. He sighed again, and averted his eyes. He couldn't bear to scan for the ship; he wanted to go out and find it himself, rescue his Kitty and watch Gutt die with his own two eyes. But he was certain that would never happen.

* * *

Down at the Gyro-Drop, Peaches walked – well, swung on the branches – towards Ethan and the Brat Pack. She cleared her throat before speaking.

"Ethan."

The mammoth whipped around, startled.

"Peaches?" he suddenly remembered something "Wait a second, Shira's not with you, is she?"

"Shira's gone, Ethan," Peaches took a deep breath to steady herself "She's gone."

"She's gone?" he asked curiously "What happened?"

"Captain Gutt came back and took her," answered Peaches bluntly.

"Oh Peaches," sighed Meghan "I'm so sorry!"

"I'm not!" declared one of the other girls, who seemed to be filling in for Steffie while she wasn't around "I'm glad that sabre's gone!"

There were murmurs of agreement from the rest of the group, which made Peaches eyes water. Meghan saw this, and decided that Peaches needed support, and that she would have to give it to her. She stepped forward and wrapped her trunk around Peaches' comfortingly.

"It's okay Peach, I'm here for you."

"Thanks, Meg."

"Meghan, what are you doing?" Ethan looked very confused.

"Being a friend," she replied firmly, before leading Peaches away from the group "C'mon Peach, let's go back."

"To where?"

"Not sure, anywhere but here."

Peaches smiled at her friend, glad that someone other than Louis was standing up for her for a change. As if on cue, Louis popped out of the ground.

"Hey Peach, what's up?"

"A lot," sighed Peaches dejectedly, while Meghan squeezed her trunk.

"Well just remember Peach, you'll never face things alone," promised Louis, and Meghan nodded.

"I love you guys," said Peaches firmly. _My friends are the best people in the world, _she thought.

**There you go! The end of Chapter 4! If you're wondering why I chose Meghan to stay as Peaches' friend, 1) she was the only one who didn't get hurt on the Gyro-Drop (not an accident), 2) one of my own best friends is called Megan, and 3) she had the smallest part out of Peaches' friends, so I wanted to build up a character for her.**

**Hope you all enjoyed this, and sorry if you didn't. I wrote this when I was on holiday, so I didn't have an awful lot of time in general, and I've been working on all my other stories _and _a new one-shot, so I've been very busy.**

**Again, any ideas sent in will be appreciated, and most likely included, unless I can't include them for whatever reason. If I can't include them in this fanfic, then I will try and use them in another one, as I seem to run out of ideas for everything except this. And if any of you have any ideas for 1) how Rudy died and 2) how/where Buck found out, then they'd be welcomed. Otherwise I'm gonna have to beg my BFF for ideas and have her get annoyed again. That's what I did for Roshan's Return (finally updated, BOOYA!) and The Girls In The Ice Age.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading and please review! XD**


	5. Starvation and Secrets

**Hey, I'm back already! Yeah, I've had a lot of time today to work on stories because I've been in the house alone (by choice) because my 'friend' has been such a, uhm.. I can't say what she's been because I refuse to swear but she's been awful recently and made me cry for like half and hour just this morning because I let it get on top of me, but anyway I thought I'd update my stories again for something to do. **

**I hope you enjoy reading this, and sorry for the fact that it moves forward a month in time. I'm in a reeeaaally bad mood right now, which is why I'm not updating The Girls In The Ice Age coz it's the girl I based Carly on that I'm mad at and I don't want to do something to the character that I'll regret later. Like, broken limbs and stuff. Writing this did calm me down though, so thanks for encouraging me! :D**

* * *

_**One Month Later**_

Shira lay on the floor of the cell, stroking her bloated stomach. She knew she still had about two months left in her pregnancy, and she was worried about what would happen during the last leg when she would be extremely big and when she would give birth to however many cubs she would have. She could only hope she'd be out of the cell and off the ship by then; she was kinda afraid of giving birth on a pirate ship to her first litter, and the fact it would be in front of her old siblings scared her even more. She wasn't sure how they'd react, and she was scared to find out...

Suddenly her stomach heaved, and she quickly turned to the small shaft that she always used when she was sick. She gagged at the awful taste in her mouth; she really hated the after-effect of throwing up. She lay back down on the cold ice, resting her burning forehead against the frozen wall of the cell in an attempt to relax herself. It worked. The cubs growing inside her often left her feeling extreme fatigue, and now was one of those times.

"...Shira?"

"Yeah, Raz?"

"Do ya wan' some wateh?"

"Yes please," she answered, although she was sort of wishing she could be alone. Raz was always there now, which Shira loved, because she'd missed her sister so much when she left, but sometimes Shira just wanted some time by herself, away from the world, to think, and she didn't have that anymore.

She repeated her routine of filling her mouth with water and spitting down the shaft, before sipping slowly at what water was left in the turtle-shell. Continuing to lie on the floor (she rarely sat up unless she had to, she preferred to be close to the cold ice floor), Shira rubbed her swollen belly with one paw, hoping that the cubs growing inside her could feel her gesture. She puked again, and Raz refilled the turtle-shell for her younger sister.

"I'm really getting tired of all this throwing up," groaned Shira, patting her stomach again. Raz sighed.

"Ah can imagine. I' seems like ya 'ave some stomach bug or somethin'," she said worriedly, pressing her hand against the ice-door "Come 'ere Sheila, Ah'll check ya temperature for ya."

Shira shook her head, too weary to move from her spot by the shaft. Anyway, she was still feeling queasy and expected to be sick again._ If it's called 'Morning Sickness', why am I being sick _all _the time?! You'd think it only happened in the morning!, _thought Shira gloomily, _Not at any second! Oh no, not again..._

Her stomach lurched and she was sick again, digging her claws into the ice to steady herself. There were permanent little groves in the ice around the shaft for Shira to put her claws in, groves that she'd made a month ago when she first threw up. Raz sighed again, scared to open the door and desperate to comfort her sister. The poor kangaroo had to settle for refilling the shell _again _and sliding it through.

"RAZ!" shouted Captain Gutt from above deck "What was that?"

"Shira was being sick," Raz called loudly, to which the Captain laughed hysterically.

"Alright, but she might be even worse after her dinner!"

Gupta scurried down to the lower deck, dragging a big, slippery eel. The creature was still alive, and it flopped about as it tried to escape the badger's claws. It knew as soon as it saw the sabre that it was supposed to be her meal, and it knew that it had no chance of survival. With some help from Raz, Gupta slid the eel into the cell. Shira groaned and hid her face in her paws, as she was scared she would cry and definitely didn't want her brother and sister to see her if she did.

"Here you go!" said Gupta, trying to sound cheerful.

"Shut up," muttered Shira.

"Hmm, vhat if I bring some nice fruit down for you later. Vould I be forgiven then?"

"Thanks, Gupta," sighed Shira, lifting her head "I just feel kinda sick."

"Ah'm sure i' will pass, Sheila," Raz assured her "Ya won't be ill in the mornin'."

Shira grunted in disagreement and grabbed the slimy eel, stabbing it with her claws, killing it. She turned her back on her siblings, well aware that they didn't enjoy watching her eat other animals, and sulkily started to eat the disgusting fish. After two mouthfuls she puked again, but carried on eating anyway. _I _hate _eel!,_ she thought miserably as she sank her teeth into it, _It's so gross! I'm sorry kids, I hate having to do this to you!_

* * *

Diego sat in the long grass, watching a herd of antelope as they grazed and played with their children. He was starving, but he knew what losing a loved one can do to an animal, and didn't quite have the heart to do that to one of those calfs over there. At least not until he'd gotten over his greif. He'd lost so much weight recently; he hadn't hunted since he lost Shira. Mikayla hunted for him, he refused the meat. There had just been an arguement about that several minutes ago back with the herd...

_Diego was lying on his stomach in the clearing, trying to ignore Crash and Eddie as they begged him to help with their latest crazy idea. Mikayla padded into the clearing, holding a gazelle by the neck with her teeth. She dropped the dead animal in front of Diego proudly, obviously showing off._

_"Dinner's here!" she announced, licking her lips clean. Diego shook his head._

_"No thanks. If I haven't killed the animal myself, I don't eat it. I also never share."_

_"But, you used to share almost every night with Sh-" began Eddie, but Diego flung him across the clearing._

_"Don't. Say. Her. Name!" he hissed darkly. Crash looked confused._

_"But he's right, Diego. You guys shared your meal almost every night! And she hunted for you sometimes, too!" pointed out the remaining possum, only to be flung over to his brother by an angry tiger._

_"Why do you treat me so different, Diego? It sounds like you were super-sweet to that other sabre!" whined Mikayla childishly, pouting at Diego, who glared back._

_"What, so now the love of my life is just 'that other sabre'?! You don't even remember her name?!"_

_"You said not to say her name!" protested Mikayla "And what does it matter now, Diego? You have me now, and I'll always love you, unlike that traitor who left you for some stupid monkey!" _

_"She didn't leave me!" snapped Diego "She was _taken _from me, Mikayla! We loved each-other to pieces, and we still do!"_

_"How would you know?! You haven't spoken to her?! And from what I heard, you two didn't exactly leave things on a good note!" Mikayla yelled, her eyes filling with tears "For all you actually know, she could be blabbering to that dumb crew about how much she hates you!"_

_Diego didn't answer, mostly because he knew Mikayla was right. There was every chance that Shira now hated him; he'd treated her terribly before they were torn apart. And he was just sitting here, doing nothing to save her, while she could be being tortured by Gutt! She'd been gone a whole month, and he hadn't gone out to find her! Of course she hated him! He had to fight back tears himself as he came to such a false conclusion, thinking he'd betrayed his beloved Kitty._

_Without another word, Diego got to his feet and raced out into the trees, screaming at Mikayla not to follow him._

The golden sabre turned away from the antelope, tears rolling down his cheeks as he thought about his silver tigress. He knew he'd never see her again, but what he didn't know was that he was wrong. It was all part of Gutt's plan; Diego would have a breif reunion with Shira, but neither would survive. At least, that was the plan anyway.

* * *

Silas flew down to where Raz sat, holding an exotic fruit that the crew had not yet identified. Raz took it from him and slipped it into Shira's cell, smiling when her little sister's face lit up with joy. The silver sabre sank her teeth into the sweet fruit, ripping into it hungrily. She hoped her babies wouldn't mind the fact that it wasn't meat, and would just enjoy the juicy strips of sugary fruit.

"Mmm, I wish we knew what this fruit's called!" murmured Shira between bites, to which Raz and Silas nodded "It's so good!"

"Ah wish we could grow some of i'," agreed Raz "Anyway, ya feelin' bettah now?"

"A little," lied Shira, but now Raz had brought it up she felt like she was going to puke again "Still got a bit of a bad stomach though."

"Funny, you seem to be stomaching ze fruit alright," commented Silas. Shira shrugged.

"Guess it just agrees with me."

She tore the last succulent bite of the fruit off the core, and felt it burst between her teeth as she chewed. She swallowed hard, trying to get the delicious snack past the lump in her throat that had appeared when she thought of her future cubs. You see, whenever she thought of the cubs, she couldn't help thinking about their father, and that always put her in great emotional pain. To distract herself, she gnawed on the core of the fruit. Suddenly, she remembered what Raz had said, and rescued the seeds from what was left of the core, thinking that if she ever made it back to the island, she could plant them. She then finished off the core, seeing no purpose in leaving it.

"I'd better be getting back to ze top deck," sighed Silas "Ze Captain might notice my absence."

Raz and Shira both nodded, and Silas flew off. Shira then returned to licking the fruit juice off her paws, while Raz watched with apparant interest. Pretending to be unfazed, Shira ran her tongue over her claws, cleaning them up, as she had torn the fruit to pieces with them and annoying had chunks of fruit under her claws. Licking herself clean irritated Shira, as often when she got messy while eating, Diego would clean her fur for her, and she'd sort of gotten used to it. After the sabre sighed for the hundredth time that day, Raz decided enough was enough.

"Alright Sheila, wha's the mattah?" she asked "Ya've been sighin' all day, an' Ah know tha' the throwin' up ain't seasickness. Plus ya've been gettin' a fair bit biggah lately. Now don't 'ate me fer sayin' this, but are ya-"

"Yes, Raz," sighed Shira "I am."

"Well why didn't ya say somethin'? Ah could've helped ya out!"

"Sorry, I just wanted it to be kind of a secret, you know? Not open-news, if you get what I mean. It's just kinda... personal."

"Ah understand ya, Sheila, bu' Ah'm ya sista! Ya coulda told meh!" said Raz, hurt. Reluctantly, Shira dragged herself over to the ice-door, her belly heavy with the weight of her cubs. Raz shook her head at the sabre.

"Don't move too much, ya might hurt yaself or ya cubs."

"I won't, I've hardly moved in a month," pointed out Shira, reaching through the panel and gripped Raz's hand with one paw "And I'm sorry Raz, at first I was just afraid to talk about it, and then I was worried that if you knew and Gutt found out then he would hurt you. But you're right, I should've told my older sister."

Raz smiled sweetly at Shira, who blushed under her silver fur. Raz reached through the panel and gently combed the little bits of fruit out of Shira's fur.

"There. Now ya can be a prettah lil' tigress as well as a smart an' cunnin' one."

"Thanks Raz," replied Shira, nuzzling her sister's hands "You've been really nice to me this past month."

"Don't worrah, Sheila, Ah know tha' ya would do the same fer meh!"

"True..." muttered Shira sleepily, her eyelids starting to close.

"Now go ta sleep, ya need i' bad. An' ya might wanna go back near tha' shaft in case ya, well, ya know wha Ah mean."

Shira nodded, nudged Raz's hand one last time and moved back to where she had been lying before.

"Don't tell anyone," whispered Shira, to which Raz nodded and winked. Shira winked back before she fell asleep, resting her head on her paws. After a few minutes, a smile tugged at the corners of Shira's mouth, and her ear started twitching. She seemed pretty happy, happier than Raz had seen her for a while. The kangaroo assumed her sister was dreaming of playing with the cubs when they were born, or perhaps an exhilerating hunt, or maybe just about Diego... there was no end to the possibilites. Raz laughed quietly as she imagined what her sister could be dreaming about. Either way, she was just glad Shira was having a _good _dream for a change.

* * *

Tired and hungry, Diego trudged back to the caves where the herd slept. He still felt empty inside, but by the time his resolve had started to waver it was too late to hunt, so he still hadn't eaten a thing for about three days. Every now and then one of the herd members (more often Ellie or Peaches) would convince him to have a particularly juicy piece of fruit, and a few times he'd grudgingly agreed to eat grubs or bugs to get Sid to shut up. He did drink enough water to survive though, because thirst irritated him. He was so hungry he was very distracted as he walked along, so he failed to notice...

"WOAH!" exclaimed Diego as he fell face-first into a lake he hadn't noticed. He accidentally swallowed a lot of water and a small fish, so once he dragged himself out of the water he lay on his stomach in the grass, coughing violently. Out of nowhere, he felt someone rubbing his back with their paw, a gesture that was both familiar and completely alien. A new warmth appeared by his side, while the paw on his back made it's way around his neck, pulling Diego closer to the owner.

"Ya know, you look phenomenal when you're soaking wet," purred Mikayla, nuzzling Diego against his will.

"I know, Shira's told me," he replied in a clipped tone, stiffening beside her.

"Wierd, you talk about her a lot."

"So what if I do? She's everything to me."

"But baby, what about me?"

"Like I said, _Shira _is everything."

"Fine then, I just _won't _keep you warm tonight!"

"I... don't want you to," admitted Diego, to which Mikayla scowled and stood up. She stuck her tongue out at him childishly and stalked off, clearly expecting him to come running after her and apologise. To her disappointment, he didn't even watch her retreat. He just stared at the water in the pond and mumbled to himself. He was weighing up the pros and cons of building a ship and trying to find Shira.

"Okay, uhm... pro, I might get to see her again. Con, she might be dead." he shuddered "Er, pro, it would show Gutt not to miss with this herd. Con, I might drag the herd into a massive battle that could get some of them killed. Alright, another pro, another pro... I know! Pro, Shira would be around so I could prove to Mikayla that we do love each-other. Con, with Mikayla around, Shira might get jealous and somehow get the idea that I prefer Mikayla."

Diego sighed, unable to think of any more for the time being. He shook the water off his fur and headed back to his cave. He'd stopped sleeping in the mammoth cave when Mikayla started sleeping in the cave he once shared with Shira. The cave belonged to the two mates, and Diego wanted Mikayla out. And the only way to do that was to go back in himself.

But he didn't sleep on the big rock, that was too lonely and had too many memories attached to it. Instead he slept on the floor by the entrance, guarding an imaginary Shira from any harm. He dreamt about her that night, and hoped that if she was alive, she had dreamt about him.

**So, what did you think? Sorry if it's not good, like I said I've been by myself today (not as bad as it may sound) and decided to work on this because I was anxious to see what you guys thought :)**

**Hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading/following/favouriting and please review! I NEED REVIEWS! They give me inspiration! Thanks again :D**


	6. Dreams and Kicks

**Hey, I'm back again! Can I just say a quick thank-you to my BFF who is (hopefully) reading this but doesn't have a fanfic account, because she helped come up with some of this chapter. Funny thing, I came up with the name of the chapter before I wrote it. Lol! I knew what the plot was going to be though, I'm not completely crazy! Just mostly, I guess. Kinda like Buck... but with two eyes and I don't ride dinosaurs. I'm gonna shut up now before one of you guys call the asylum or something.**

**Anyways, hope you enjoy, and luckily Mikayla does more than just flirt with Diego in this chapter! Phew! Even _I _was getting sick of that! And sorry, but there's another time change in this chapter. I didn't want to write out 3 and a half months of Shira's pregnancy in detail, and anyway I didn't have enough ideas for what the herd would be doing in that time, so they'd end up with tiny parts in the story otherwise.**

* * *

_**One and a half months later**_

Mikayla sat beside Diego's sleeping form, watching him smile at whatever he was dreaming about. She had vain hopes he was dreaming about her, but she knew it was almost definitely Shira. Mikayla was pretty sure the only way she could be in a happy dream of Diego's would be if Shira was attacking her in it. She sighed and slumped down beside him. He didn't like her in the cave, and she knew that, but it was early and everyone was asleep, so she was lonely. Curiousity was gnawing away at her. What could he be dreaming about...

* * *

_A small orange sabre cub was sitting at the edge of a large lake, staring at the camp on the other side. He knew exactly what - or rather, who - he was looking for, but he didn't want to admit it._

_"Diego?" asked his mother, lying down beside him "What are you looking for?"_

_"...Shira," he admitted "Mom, do you think she's-"_

_"We know she's okay Diego, you saw her land on the other side."_

_"Yeah but, what if her Dad killed her?"_

_"I'm sure no father could do that to a cub."_

_"Dad tried to drown her," pointed out Diego._

_"Yes, well..." his mother didn't really know how to put a good spin on that "He thought he had a good purpose."_

_"How did he have a good purpose?! She didn't do anything!" wailed Diego, cryin again "All she did was save me from drowning, and then Dad tried to drown her! There was no reason at all!"_

_"I know, I know," she sighed "It's just - Diego you know what being respected means to your father. You know how much he longs to be the best pack in the world."_

_"Well how does drowning an innocent cub make him the best?!" demanded Diego. His mother sighed._

_"I don't know Diego, I really don't. Just don't bring it up again honey, it's a touchy subject for all the pack."_

_"Okay Mom," agreed Diego reluctantly "But you can't just expect me to forget about her!"_

_"Of course not. You'll probably never forget her. But you can't talk about her anymore, alright?"_

_"Alright."_

_"Thank you Diego," she said gratefully, nuzzling her son "Now come on, I think the ship should be ready now, we're going home!"_

_"..."_

_"Diego?"_

_"It's just, well... I'd like to see her again. You know, before I leave."_

_"I know you do Diego but you have to understand that it's not safe!"_

_"Yeah, yeah, our pack's are enemies, blah blah blah," Diego sighed, sick of all the rivalry. His mother gave him a lick on the head, and got up to walk away._

_"C'mon little guy, we've gotta go."_

_"Okay..." he looked at the middle of the lake, where he had first met Shira and whispered "Goodbye and good luck, Shira."_

_Then he got up and followed his mother back to where his pack were_ _gathered._

* * *

"Woah!" exclaimed Diego, sitting upright all of a sudden. Just then, he noticed Mikayla lying beside him, resting her head on his shoulder. He abruptly shrugged her off, not caring if he woke her up.

"Huh, what happened?" she asked groggily, rubbing her eye with her paw.

"Uhm, let's see... you invaded my cave, you invaded my privacy _and _you invaded my personal space!" replied Diego, pushing her further away from him.

"Look, I was just trying to help you!" she defended herself "You were mumbling in your sleep about drowning and I thought you were having a bad dream, so I comforted you!"

"I didn't have a bad dream," Diego corrected her "I had a bad _flashback. _There's a difference."

"Seriously dude, now you're just being contrary!" retorted Mikayla, sounding offended. Diego felt a tiny amount of guilt, but hid it well. He was realising how he was destined to be with Shira, and he was cursing himself for ever forgetting about that point in his life. He missed her, and he had his whole life. He wanted, no, he _needed _to find Shira again, and soon. His heart ached for his childhood sweetheart, and he knew that if she didn't return soon he woulf die. Literally, you could count his ribs as it was, and if she was gone for much longer, he would die of starvation.

The herd knew this, and were trying everything they could to make him eat anything. He'd given up on eating most fruit, except for mangos and kiwi fruits, just because he loved them and honestly wasn't trying to starve himself; it was pure grief that made him stop hunting. And it was pure disgust that made him stop eating Sid's food suggestions: grubs and bugs.

Suddenly, as if on cue, his stomach growled loudly. He grunted in pain, but stayed where he was.

"Want me to go and catch you something?" asked Mikayla gently, expecting an explosion or something. But Diego just shook his head calmly.

"Nah, it's alright."

"No it's not! You'll starve to death!" fretted Mikayla, laying her paw on his shoulder worriedly.

"So what?!" he muttered moodily, laying his head on his paws. Mikayla sighed and got to her feet.

"Okay that's it, I'm getting the others."

"Why?"

"Because something has to be done about this. I'm calling an intervention."

"Really? An intervention? Isn't that a little extreme?"

"No, because you're going to die otherwise!"

"...I won't..."

Mikayla gave Diego that 'Oh come on!' look and strode out of the cave. _And now she's gonna go to all the different caves and bug all the herd members. She does realise that while she's doing that I can just run away, right?, _Diego thought to himself. But to his surprise, Mikayla stopped in the middle of the clearing. She took a deep breath, and roared. Loud. There were sounds of frantic movement coming from both of the other caves, and the rest of the herd hurried out into the clearing. _That could work too..._, he thought.

* * *

Gutt laughed evilly as he hauled a net containing a large eel up onto the deck. He knew how much Shira hated eel, and he thought it was the cause of her throwing up. Actually it sort of was, as her pregnancy coupled with the fact that eel generally made her puke sometimes made her excessively sick, and Gutt enjoyed this incredibly, because Shira was, in his eyes, a traitor that deserved punishment. Silas, Gupta and Raz had figured out what was wrong with her (why she was being sick so much, only Raz knew about the cubs), with a little help from Boris, who spoke perfectly fine when the Captain wasn't around. Gutt had never liked Boris's voice, saying it was too 'posh' to be a pirate's voice, and so forbid him to talk. He also hated Boris's real name, Dobson, as that was also too 'posh', so he changed it to Boris.

"Gupta!" called Gutt, holding the slimy eel upside-down "Take this down to the sabre."

He'd started calling her 'sabre' a month ago, after getting tired of constantly yelling "SHIRA!" whenever she did something wrong. Which had been fairly often in the last month. She hadn't actually done anything, but Raz and the others kept getting into trouble and she insisted on taking the blame for them, she couldn't help it. They didn't object as vividly as usual, but that was because they were building the contraption that they were testing today.

"Of course Captain," said Gupta, who wasn't on the flagpole as there was no-one else around. He grabbed hold of the eel, while Silas quickly swooped down to the sea. Back before Shira turned against Gutt, if the nets were ever damaged then Silas would dive through the air and catch a fish in his mouth for the sabre to eat, so he knew what he was doing. He caught a big fish, and flew up to the deck again. Quickly, while the Captain wasn't looking, he traded with Gupta for the eel, which he promptly threw overboard again.

Gupta then ran to the lower deck as fast as he could swinging the fish in front of him so that Gutt couldn't see it wasn't eel. Raz grinned when she saw it; she'd come up with that plan and was glad it had worked.

"Shira," she whispered soothingly "Wake up Sheila, ya dinner's 'ere."

Shira mumbled something and arched her back, yawning. She'd given up sitting a little while ago, not liking the uncomfortable feeling it brought her. The cubs really were getting bigger now, and moving around hurt her. She really wasn't used to the feeling of her bulging stomach, or the however many little bodies forming inside it. Raz slid open the panel and pushed the fish through, surprising Shira. The crew always discussed their plans in the middle of the night, when the Captain was asleep, but they would talk right in front of Shira, she just slept so deeply with the added weariness of her pregnancy that she never woke up if they whispered.

"Woah, no eel?" she asked, shocked. She'd been convinced that her babies would have to put up with slimy eel and stolen fruit until they were born, maybe even after.

"Disappointed?" said Gupta with a chuckle. Shira laughed too.

"Absolutely not!" she replied firmly, giggling. She had her back to them, to hide her big stomach from Gupta, but she was looking over her shoulder at them. She pulled the fish closer to her and started eating, turning away from them out of respect.

"Hey kids, you get something other than eel for a change!" she whispered to her stomach, giggling at herself for talking to her stomach. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her belly, and gasped in surprise. She rested a paw on the spot where the pain had been, before feeling another one on the other side. She growled in pain, not liking the fact that the pain moved.

"Sheila? Wha's wrong?" asked Raz, prepared for the worse. Shira suddenly realised what it was.

"They kicked!" she exclaimed, as quietly as she could "They kicked, Raz!"

"Oh, Shiela tha's great! How many times?"

"Four!" she replied, her voice shaking with excitement. Gupta stood there awkwardly, not quite understanding what was happening. In answer to his silent question, Shira gently rolled over so he could see her huge stomach.

"My cubs kicked me," she repeated. Gupta's eyes grew wide with amazement. His little sister; pregnant. He was having a little trouble processing that. He didn't need to ask who the father was, it was obviously Diego, but he did anyway.

"The father?"

"Diego."

"Should I tell the others?"

"NO!" said Shira and Raz at the same time, their eyes big with fear.

"Vhat do you-"

"Gupta, do you have any idea what Gutt would do to my cubs if he knew about them?!" asked Shira seriously. Gupta nodded, understanding.

"I have to go," he said and Shira and Raz nodded, knowing that Gutt would wonder where Gupta was. The badger scurried back to the upper deck, his mind still buzzing with all the questions he wanted to ask about Shira's kids. But they would have to wait until later on.

* * *

"Mikayla what's going on?" asked Ellie sleepily, rubbing her eyes with her trunk. Manny grunted his agreement with the question, while Crash and Eddie mumbled in their sleep. They were hanging off Ellie's tusks, as Sid stood beside her, his Granny asleep on his back. Somehow, Mikayla hadn't woken her up, so Sid just carried her out of their cave. Peaches followed her parents, Louis and Meghan beside her. They'd slept over that night, so they attended Mikayla's intervention.

Diego didn't leave the cave. He crawled over to the rock he shared with Shira and sniffed the leaves. Somehow, they had managed to hold her scent all this time, which both pleased and depressed him. He liked that he could still smell her in their home, but he didn't like it because it made him sad. Mikayla padded into the cave to find Diego with his nose in the leaves, sniffing gently and blinking back his tears.

"You really, really miss her, don't you?"

"Talk about stating the obvious," scoffed Diego, rolling his eyes, which were still watery.

"Look, I know you hate me. But I don't hate you. And I can't just sit by and watch you starve yourself to death," explained Mikayla kindly.

"Okay, if this is some dumb long-winded way of getting me to like you then it's not working!" retorted Diego, uncomfortable because Mikayla wasn't just straight-out flirting with him.

"It's not Diego, I'm worried about you! Please just come outside and talk to the rest of the herd," she begged "We're your friends! Well, _they're _your friend, even though I'm not, and we can all help you! Please?"

"Mikayla," Diego took a deep breath "If you maybe stop obsessively hitting on me, then I guess, if you're really that worried about me, we could try friendship."

"Really?!" asked Mikayla, her eyes lighting up with hope "I'd love that!"

"_Only _if you stop flirting!" said Diego firmly. Mikayla nodded, and led the way outside. Diego looked up at the sky and whispered "Don't worry Kitty, I'll never stop loving you!" before following Mikayla. The herd were sitting in a semi-circle, watching the two sabres. Diego sighed, expecting one of Manny's long lectures, but what actually happened surprised him. Ellie got up and walked over to him, carefully laying her trunk over his shoulders.

"Diego," she sighed "We know you miss her, we all do. But starving yourself? That's not what she would have wanted, and you know that."

"I know," Diego lowered his head "But without her, I just-"

"Yes, you love her and don't want to go on without her. But do really think she'd have wanted you to isolate yourself from the herd? To refuse food and drink unless we make you have it? That's not what she'd want!"

"Yeah, but-"

"No buts, mate!" said Buck firmly "We're worried about ya!"

"He's right, Uncle Diego," Peaches had tears in her eyes "You can't go on without her, but _we _can't go on without _you_! You've been around my whole life, I'd be lost without you!"

"Mr. Diego?" Everyone turned to Louis "You're grieving, we get that, but... aren't you taking this to kinda extreme levels?"

"Yeah, Louis is right," agreed Meghan "We're all grieving for her, now please don't take this the wrong way, but you don't see anyone else on the brink of starvation!"

"See Diego?" he turned to look at Mikayla again "They all need you. And, I do too. I know you hate me, and I've been totally insensitive this whole time, but if you did, uhm... you know, I'd be distraught! You know, I can't help feeling this is my fault and-"

"Mikayla, Gutt coming back and getting his revenge is not your fault, okay?" Ellie looked her in the eyes "But, uhm... you haven't been the best at helping him get over this."

"I know," she sighed "But that's going to change. Diego, if you want, I'll just leave. I mean, I love you, but if I'm making things harder for you than I'll just go!"

"Is it okay if I say yes to that?"

"Of course it is, I suggested it. But I'm still gonna drop in every now and then. Ya know, make sure everyone's alright," she smirked "And anyway, when this Shira comes back I DEFINITELY want to meet her!" everyone just stared at her "What? I've heard a lot about this super-sabre, and I'd like to meet her!"

"Hmm... well, if you're planning to meet Shira if she comes-"

"_When _she comes back!" Manny corrected him. Diego rolled his eyes.

"Fine, when she comes back, you probably don't want to be hitting on me because, well... she'd rip you to pieces. But thanks for helping, in your own little way. See ya around."

"See ya around."

Mikayla waved to the rest of the herd, who said their goodbye's, and walked off into the forest. The herd just sat there, silently, until Buck stood up and yawned.

"Well, I'm off to bed. See ya in the morning!"

That snapped the rest of the herd out of their daze, and they all headed back to their caves. Diego sighed and looked up at the sky again, watching the moon. He remembered how Shira loved the moon because it had been with her for her whole life.

"Hey Diego," called Sid "Do you wanna come sleep in mine and Granny's cave tonight?"

"Yeah sure," sighed Diego, not wanting to spend the night alone again "Thanks sloth."

He padded carefully into the sloth's cave, settling down by the entrance. Slowly, he drifted off to sleep, but not before wishing Shira goodnight, wherever she was.

* * *

Gupta, with the help of Silas and Boris, quickly loaded as much fruit as he could into a woven sack that Raz had made. It had taken them over a month, but they'd managed to set-up a system to get more fruit down to Shira. They'd carved little hooks in the walls of the ice passage down to the cell, wrapped a sturdy vine around them, and attached a hook to the vine, so that if they hung the sack on the hook it would swing down to Raz.

They did this now, and watched as the vine carried the sack of fruits down to Raz, who was sat waiting for it. She unhooked the sack and swung the vine so that the hook was back with Gupta and the others. She emptied the sack's contents into Shira's cell, threw the empty sack to Silas, who caught it, and carefully woke Shira up.

"Sheila? Wake up!" she repeated until the sabre opened her sapphire eyes "Gotcha a midnigh' snack."

Shira thanked Raz and dug her teeth into the fruit, saving the seeds as usual. She had a lot of them now, but she hid them away behind the pile of hay, just in case Gutt or someone else tried to take them from her. After she finished off all the fruit, Shira stroked her stomach and whispered to the little cubs growing inside her. Raz pretended she couldn't hear, but she couldn't help listening as Shira talked to her kids. She gasped in pain, and Raz pressed one hand against the ice-door worriedly.

"Just a kick," Shira assured her "They probably just got excited about the fruit."

"Oh sorrah, Sheila. Ah didn't mean ta wake 'em up," apologised Raz quickly. Shira shook her head.

"Not a problem, that just means they enjoyed it."

"Good."

There was a slightly awkward silence.

"Hey Raz?"

"Yeah, Sheila?"

"Well, would you mind if I went to sleep again now?"

"Course not, Sheila. If ya're tired go ta sleep. Ah'm certainly goin' ta."

Shira giggled and got comfortable again, rubbed her stomach one last time and drifted off to sleep.

"Night Diego," she whispered, before she lost consciousness "Love you, Softie."

Raz sighed and settled down to sleep. Shira really underestimated her sister's hearing abilities.

**So, how was it? Sorry if you thought it was bad, I had to redraft the bit where Mikayla left over and over before I was finally satisfied with it. I basically got tired of Mikayla pointlessly flirting, and anyway I didn't really think she'd be doing that for over two and a half months. She's not gone forever, but I kinda wanted her out of the way for a bit. And I didn't want one of my favourite characters (Diego) to starve to death for real, so I felt like I had to change that too.**

**Don't worry all you guys who are waiting for the reunion, it's not that far away. Just wait like, a few chapters or something. There's one more time skip, and then everything happens quite fast. Anyways, thanks for reading and please review! XD**


	7. Confessions and Cubs

**I'm back again! I've been waiting for this chapter since the start of the story, so I'm excited to get it written and uploaded! The title should say it all; fingers crossed you like it! I'll explain in the A/N at the end why I did some things the way I did, as it may seem random but trust me it's not. Almost everything in my stories happens for a reason, it's just no-one but me tends to understand the reason... actually I don't always understand the reason, but I'm sure there is one... oh well.**

**Hopefully you'll like this, there's more OC's in this chapter that I've had planned since before I wrote the first chapter of this, so I _really _hope you all like them! If not, I'm sorry. And please don't get mad about the time-skips, this is the last one, honest!**

**Please enjoy and please review! :D **

* * *

_**One month later**_

Diego sank his teeth into the dead gazelle's neck, savouring the taste he had missed for so long. He'd started hunting again a few weeks back, but word spread fast that the one of the only known predators left on the island was hunting again, so he hadn't managed to catch a gazelle until now.

"Wow," commented a familiar voice from behind him "I've never seen a sabre eat like that before!"

"Shut up Mikayla," he replied in between bites, but he didn't mean it rudely. Since she'd stopped flirting with him, Diego had actually become friends with Mikayla, so he was only joking. She was okay company now; it took his mind off his lost love.

"Seriously dude, it's not gonna go anywhere! You don't have a time-limit or anything!"

"Hey, wouldn't you be this excited if it was the first time in three and a half months you were eating gazelle meat?"

"Huh, I guess that's a fair point," admitted Mikayla, sitting down beside him. He didn't care anymore, as he knew she wouldn't make a move. He pushed the gazelle closer to her in politeness, but she refused, which he was glad of. He hunted regularly now, but he was still incredibly skinny and hungry often, so he could easily and happily eat the whole animal on his own.

"You know what I really wish there was on this island?" Diego asked her. She shook her head.

"What?"

"Some yaks," answered Diego, causing Mikayla to burst out laughing "Really! Yak meat was practically my favourite meat when I was a kid, and I could seriously go for some right now!"

"Just eat your gazelle, greedy-guts!" snickered Mikayla, still unable to stop laughing. Diego nudged her playfully and she nudged him back, both smiling like idiots at the randomness of their conversation. But Diego did as he was told, falling completely silent and enjoying his meal. When he had finished, he licked his lips and his paws, before wiping his face, as he knew the herd didn't like it when he returned home with bits of his food in his fur. Mikayla knew this too, but it wasn't something she had to think about, as she was always grooming herself anyway. She still had a tiny hope that Diego would fall for her, but she'd rather spend time with him as a friend than not be with him at all.

* * *

Peaches, Meghan and Louis were hanging out at the Cove, just sitting around and chatting. Louis was, as usual, on top of Peaches' hair, but wasn't as silent as quiet as he used to be, because he'd grown very comfortable with the two mammoths recently. Spending three and a half months with each-other generally makes people happy in each-other's presence.

"So," sighed Peaches, after several moments of silence "Have either of you two heard about Ethan and Steffie?"

Meghan and Louis both shook their heads, as they hadn't heard the latest news about the alpha couple.

"What about them?" asked Meghan curiously. Peaches grinned happily.

"They had a huge arguement the other night! Rumours are they've broken up!"

"And why do you sound so excited about that?" Louis gave her a skeptical look, and even though she couldn't see it, Peaches knew it was there. She swatted at her molehog friend with her trunk playfully. He hid himself behind her hair, but Peaches kept trying to hit him, which ended with all three friends in stiches laughing, and Peaches' hair swinging loose around her face. Louis slid down the longest lock of her brown waves, and landed down on the soft sand. Meghan and Peaches both cheered at this, making Louis blush.

"Like a true gymnast!" chuckled Meghan, causing the little molehog to go bright red. Peaches laughed and scooped him up with her trunk, gently placing him on a smooth, mossy rock so he was more on eye-level for the two mammoths.

"Seriously though Louis, great jump!" she said with a smile, which made Louis's little heart melt with joy. He loved seeing Peaches smile, it always lifted his spirits.

"Thanks," he said quietly, slightly distracted by his feelings and a random memory of the happiness Diego and Shira once had together.

"Louis? Something wrong?" asked Peaches kindly, tilting his little head up with her trunk to see if he was crying. Luckily he wasn't.

"Sorry, I just zoned out there," he sighed "Hey, do either of you ever wonder about, uhm..."

"Whether Shira's still, you know... out there?" Peaches couldn't bring herself to say the word 'alive'. Louis just nodded.

"Oh Louis, everyone does!" sighed Meghan, her eyes glossy with tears "It's just no-one ever talks about her anymore because they're too sad."

"Okay Meghan, please don't be offended by this, but you seem really shook up about Shira's... disappearence," Another word Peaches wouldn't let herself say was 'capture', because it sounded too permanent "I never really thought you were that close to her."

"...I wasn't," answered Meghan softly "But I wish I had been."

Peaches lay her trunk on her friend's shoulder, her green eyes glowing with kindness. Louis clambered up onto Meghan's head - which was a strange situation for both of them, as Louis had only ever rode on Peaches's head, and Meghan wasn't used to someone on her head - and snuggled into her fur, the way he would if Peaches was upset. Thankfully Meghan knew this, so wasn't freaked-out or anything. She knew that it was hard for a molehog to effectively hug a mammoth, but she'd seen him attempt to hug Peaches many, many times.

"Don't worry Meghan," whispered Peaches reassuringly "She'll come back. I'm sure of it."

"Me too," agreed Louis "She's beaten death once, she can do it again!"

"Huh?" asked Meghan, confused. Beating death?

"It was an accident that happened a while ago," explained Peaches "We really have to tell you that story sometime!"

A strange silence followed, which annoyed all three teenagers because it gave them too much time to think about what Gutt could be doing - or could have done - to Shira, so Louis broke it.

"Hey, who's up for planning a campfire party?" he asked randomly.

"Okay... that was random..." Peaches gave him that 'Dude, where did that come from?' look, and he was fairly sure Meghan was thinking the same thing.

"I dunno, I just thought it would be nice to have a little party by the campfire later this week. You know, to lift everyone's spirits and clear everyone's minds?"

Bothj mammoths agreed that it sounded like a lot of fun, and it would give them something to do, so they decided to ask Manny and Ellie whether it would be okay, and when they could have it.

"Hey Peach, Louis?" Meghan suddenly spoke up.

"Yeah, what's up?" Peaches smiled at her sweetly, as did Louis, who had returned to his spot on Peaches's head.

"I, uhm... have a confession to make," Meghan paused, as if afraid to finish her sentence.

"What is it, Meghan?" asked Louis gently. Meghan sighed.

"I always liked both of you, and I've always thought you were fun. You're both unique, and all the others are clones of Ethan or Steffie! But I was too, and I was horrible to you guys, but you let me hang out with you anyway. And I'm really, really glad that you did!" Meghan finished, relieved to have got that off her chest.

"C'mon now, Meg, we're not talking about anything un-cheerful right now!" said Peaches firmly "We're focusing on our campfire plans, okay?"

"But thanks," added Louis, speaking for both of them. Meghan blushed under her fur, glad she was finally close to her two favourite animals.

* * *

All the pirates had gone on a land raid, except for one, who was left to guard Shira. You think that one was Raz, right? Well, you're wrong.

"Ugh, it's not fair!" whined Squint for the thousandth time "The rest of the crew get to go on a land raid, and I'm stuck here babysitting big, fat, ugly old you!"

"You know what, Squint?!" snapped Shira, mood swings coming on and throwing away all control she had of her temper "I'm not exactly thrilled about this either!"

She had entered the last leg of her pregnancy, and honestly didn't want anyone other than Raz or Gupta around, just in case she went into labour. And she definitely didn't want SQUINT around! They always fought, and the fact that she lay on her side facing the wall at almost-all-times to hide her swollen stomach just gave him more material to tease her about.

"But I want to scare the life out of other mammals, and twirl swords around and around, and do a whole bunch of other cool stuff that happens on land raids but instead I'm stuck here. Why couldn't Raz have stayed behind to watch you? You don't even do anything!"

"I do more than you! All you do is sit and complain and blame Raz for being needed as an essential part of a land raid! You know they wouldn't have any way to carry their weapons if she wasn't around!" Shira defended her sister, furious "Squint sometimes you can be such an inconsiderate little-"

Shira was cut off by a sharp pain in her stomach, much stronger than any kick. She screamed in pain, wondering what was going on, before she realised. Of course, Squint didn't.

"Huh?" he asked, his head to one side.

"They're coming!" panted Shira, her voice shaky with panic. That actually scared Squint, he'd rarely heard Shira's voice betray whatever emotions she was feeling, unless it was anger of course.

"Who's coming?" he asked as brotherly as he could, clueless as ever.

"The cubs!"

"Woah, woah, woah, CUBS?!" Squint's ears shot up out of surprise "You're having cubs?!"

"Right now, as a matter of fact!" groaned Shira.

"B-but, none of us knew..."

"Raz and Gupta knew but the rest of you should have figured it out!" gasped Shira "Swollen stomach, throwing up, mood swings!"

"Wow. That was actually really obvious," commented Squint, before his mind returned to the task at hand "What should I do? Get the others?"

"NO! Gutt would kill my children!"

"Hmm, true..."

"Just get the straw, you idiot!"

Squint nodded and hurried over to the big heap of straw, while Shira struggled to stand up. He rushed back and forth, carrying straw from the pile and laying it down underneath Shira. He came across the seeds, but ignored them because they weren't a problem at the moment. Shira stood as long as she was able, giving Squint as much time as she could to get all the straw over to her, but that wasn't very long because her legs were weak. She lay on her side, panting quickly. Squint stood awkwardly beside her, not sure what to do.

"Uhm..."

"Don't stand there like a lemon, do something!"

"...Lemons don't stand..."

"Just do something!"

"Do what?!" demanded Squint. Shira rolled her eyes.

"You know nothing about childbirth do you?"

"...No, not really."

Shira groaned again and squeezed her eyes shut. She'd heard the story of when Ellie had Peaches enough times (tales of Dinotopia were even more common now that Buck was around permanently), so she tried to recall the bit where Diego was helping Ellie. Remembering the breathing pattern, she tried it herself, and found it helped a little.

"What are you doing?" asked Squint, pulling a face at her.

"Giving birth!" she growled angrily, gritting her teeth to stop herself from screaming. She could tell the first cub was on it's way, the pain was a lot stronger now. She felt instincts to push on the child, so she did, and soon enough the pain stopped for a moment and the cries of her first-born could be heard.

"I'll get it for you," offered Squint, but he didn't expect the cub to be coated in red "Eww! Gross! It's all... red!"

"Then use more of the straw to pick it up!" snapped Shira, having no patience with her older brother at that moment. Squint did as he was told, using lots and lots of straw to make sure he didn't touch it with his hands, but kept muttering how disgusting it was. Shira snatched her eldest cub off him, and quickly licked the child clean.

"Ew, double gross!" complained Squint. Shira rolled her eyes and ignored him; she knew what to do now. She was pleased to discover her eldest was a boy, and he had the same pelt and build as his father, but obviously a lot smaller. Shira hoped with a passion he had inherited his father's green eyes too. She set the cub beside her stomach to nurse, and groaned as another wave of pain washed over her.

"Aww, he's a cute little guy!" sighed Squint dreamily "What're ya gonna call him?"

"I think it's more important that his siblings are born than what his name is!" Shira retorted with an eye roll. She felt a strong contraction, and knew her next child was on the way. She pushed again, and it wasn't long before she heard the cries again.

"I'm on it," Squint picked up the straw again and retrieved the second child. Shira thanked him and licked her child clean. This one was a girl, with a pelt that matched neither of her parents, a pure blonde. Shira wondered what colour her eyes would be. She set the girl beside her brother and braced herself for more contractions.

"Girl," she spat out, knowing that Squint was curious. He nodded, and readied himself to get the next cub. Shira felt the pain return, but it was a lot stronger this time. She pushed on the child again, but she had to push hard and for a fairly long time before she heard the cries. She was scared something was wrong, but when Squint gave her the cub and she cleaned it off, she found out the child was just larger than the others. He was a boy, and had a pelt slightly darker than Diego's.

"Oh wow, would a strong-looking little boy!" cooed Squint, coming closer to the cub. The child didn't like this, even though it was blind and deaf it could smell Squint, and started scratching at the rabbit with his claws "Woah! Stranger danger, stranger danger, stranger danger!" repeated Squint, talking fast and slurring his words together a little.

"Hey, that last one sounded like 'Ranger Danger'" pointed out Shira, giggling despite her pain. The next contraction came faster than she expected, and she pushed hard on the cub. The cries came just as fast as the pain had, and soon Shira was licking clean the child. It was another boy, and had Shira's grey pelt, but with orange stripes shaped like lightning on his paws and legs. Shira set him beside his brother's and sister, wondering how many more cubs there were.

"I still think we should at least nickname them," muttered Squint sulkily. Shira ignored him, as she could feel the pain coming back and knew she had another cub coming soon. She was right, and pushed on the little child. Squint brought it to her, and she licked it clean. This one was a another girl, and had the same fur as her father and eldest brother. Shira hoped her eyes were a different colour though, because otherwise it would be hard to tell her and her brother apart before they could talk. She set the child beside her siblings and braced herself for more pain.

She didn't feel the strong pain for a little while, but when she did it didn't last for long. Squint brought the cub up to her, and she assumed it must be a girl because it was so small. It was actually a boy, with a pelt as white as snow, no markings at all. Shira feared she would lose him in the real snow when he could walk, but his pelt would be great camoflauge for hunting. She had only just set him down by his siblings when she felt the next pain.

"Seriously?!" she complained to no-one in particular. The last cub was even easier, and she heard the cries much faster than she'd have expected. When Squint handed her the cub, Shira discovered it was another very little one. She licked it clean, and discovered it was a girl, and that she had the same pelt as her mother. She knew that was the last cub, as there was no more pains in her stomach, and she was glad of it, too. She now had seven cubs, she didn't need anymore! They nursed hungrily, and their sharp teeth annoyed Shira.

"So, is that all of 'em?" asked Squint, reaching out to stroke the oldest girl. The third-born, the one who attacked Squint earlier, was lying next to her, and attempted to growl at the rabbit. "Stranger danger," muttered Squint miserably. Shira smiled.

"Something tells me that one's gonna be great friends with Crash and Eddie," she commented, watching the seven little fluffballs. Squint nodded.

"Once again, nicknames would be helpful!"

"Okay, fine!" Shira finally gave in "What _nicknames_-" She put extra emphasis on the fact that Squint wasn't naming her children "-do you suggest?"

"Hmm... well, that one that already hates me, didn't you say it sounded like 'Ranger Danger' earlier?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, how about that?"

Shira looked down at the cub, who was squashed between his slightly older sister and his slightly younger brother. She decided that 'Ranger Danger' actually suited him quite well. She nodded silently, then looked at the others. Her eyes focused on the fourth-born, the boy with grey fur and orange stripes on his paws and legs.

"Lightning?" she suggested, tapping him on the head.

"Why're you asking me? They're _your _kids!" pointed out Squint. He stroked the eldest cub, the boy who looked like Diego "Hey, how about Diego Jr.?"

"Okay," agreed Shira, because that suited the small cub "Now, what should we do about-"

She was cut off by the sound of the pirates returning. She could hear Raz hurrying down, with the bone-swords clinking together in her pouch. Squint jumped in front of Shira and the cubs protectively. The purple kangaroo hopped into the cell, not expecting Shira to be surrounded with straw or for Squint to weild his knife, apparantly protecting his younger sister.

"Hey guys, whas up?" she asked hesitantly.

"They're born Raz!" exclaimed Shira, patting her children on the head, earning several small mewls of annoyance.

"Wha?!" Raz's eyes widened in surprise and amazement "Are ya serious?!"

Shira nodded and signalled for Raz to come forward, which she eagerly did, after emptying her pouch of all weapons of course. The kangaroo crouched down beside Shira and her cubs, smiling down at the seven little fluffballs.

"Cute, aren't they?" Shira met her sister's eyes. Raz nodded.

"Sure are. You an' tigah make a good couple."

"Really? Well, thanks," Shira smiled at Raz and Squint, who both nodded. The three animals watched the cubs for a little bit, until Squint sighed.

"I should be getting back to the upper deck."

"Okay, but we need to nickname the other kids first!" said Shira quickly. Raz raised an eyebrow skeptically at her two siblings, her facial expression asking the question "Nicknames?"

"I thought we should nickname the kids so that we can tell 'em apart," explained Squint, pointing at the cubs as he said their nicknames "He's Lightning, that's Ranger Danger-" he met Raz's look of confusion "-long story."

"Anyway," Shira smiled at her brother and sister "This little guy is Diego Jr."

She patted her eldest cub on the head happily. Raz smiled.

"So, they've been named now?" she asked casually, but Shira shook her head.

"No, no, they've only been nicknamed. I wouldn't name them without Sof- I mean, Diego," Shira corrected herself, not wanting her family to know her little nickname for Diego "And we only got around to nicknaming those three."

"Hmm... how 'bout Tiny for tha' lil' girl?" suggested Raz, stroking the youngest child. Shira nodded and grinned at Raz, knowing the kangaroo's habit of calling people 'Tiny'. Now that the cubs were full, Shira moved Lightning, Ranger Danger, Diego Jr. and Tiny away so that they could focus on the three that hadn't been nicknamed yet.

"What about Ghost for the little boy?" Squint asked, to which both girls nodded. Shira lifted the snow-white cub and nuzzled him happily, before placing him down next to Tiny.

"Alright, so that's five out of seven nicknamed," she smiled at the two little girls that remained curled against her stomach. The second-born hugged her younger sister, who snuggled into her fur lovingly.

"Kinda reminds me of us two when we were kids, Sheila," Raz grinned at her younger sister. Shira's azure eyes lit up suddenly, like they always did when she had a good idea.

"So how about we nickname them Razzy and Shi-Shi then?" she suggested, to which Raz's own eyes lit up.

"Alrigh', which one's which?"

"Well, you always comforted me when we were little, so I think the older one should be Razzy," Shira nuzzled the two small cubs, while Raz nodded.

"An' this lil' one's Shi-Shi?" Raz played with the cub's ears, while she growled, although it sounded more like a purr. Shira smiled and nodded, bringing her other cubs closer to her again.

"Okay, well as much as I love this touching moment, I honestly need to get back above deck," sighed Squint "Want me to get the others to come down tonight to see 'em?"

"Yeah, good idea," Shira smiled at her brother "See ya tonight?"

"Sure thing," Squint grinned "I couldn't stay away from them for long anyway!"

As soon as he said that, Ranger Danger made a noise in the back of his throat that sounded like a younger, cuter version of "Uggh!", to which Raz and Shira both laughed.

"I don't think Ranger Danger's happy about that!" giggled Shira, stroking the cub's head. Squint shook his head slowly.

"He never has liked me, even since birth!"

"Aww, Ah guess i' must've been beautiful ta see the miracle of life takin' place, eh Squint?" sighed Raz dreamily, but Squint looked at her as if she was insane.

"Are you kidding?! It was disgusting! Soo gross! I'll never live to _un_see that! Ugh!" Squint stalked out of the cell "Now, if you ladies will excuse me, I'm gonna go puke over the side of the boat!"

Both females laughed as Squint walked away, but just before he left Shira shouted after him.

"Hey Squint!"

He turned around to face her "Yeah?"

"Thanks."

The two smiled at each-other for a moment, then Squint ran back above deck. Raz sat herself down beside Shira, laying one arm over her and her cubs. Shira smiled up at her big sister, then smiled down at her young cubs. Because she wasn't used to the cub's nursing, _and _giving birth had obviously had it's effect on her, Shira was incredibly tired, and fell asleep shortly after her seven cubs. Raz grinned down at them, proud of her sister for finding a mate and having such sweet little cubs. Raz just hoped that one day she'd find her own family.

**So, what didja think? Cute? Dumb? Random? Anything else? Please review and tell me what you think, or I won't know how to improve it. **

**I'd just like to make it clear that THESE ARE NOT THE CUBS ACTUAL NAMES! THEY'RE JUST NICKNAMES! Just wanted to make that extremely clear so that none of you guys get confused or anything. And anyway, I didn't believe Shira actually would name them without Diego, so I had to come up with nicknames for them so that you guys can tell them apart when the characters are talking about them :)**

**Anyways, hope you liked, thanks for reading/following/favouriting and please review! :D**


	8. Brothers and Battles

**Hey, I'm back again! Just couldn't wait for this chapter because it's another one I've been waiting for since before I even started the story, so wanted to upload it ASAP! :D And anyway, I entered**** a talent show last Sunday called Next Big Thing (sung A Thousand Years by Christina Perri - and failed miserably!) and I'll find out by next Monday if I got in or not (probably not!), but I'm soo nervous so I want to take my mind off things for a bit. BTW, you know how two of the cubs were nicknamed 'Razzy' and 'Shi-Shi'? Well, you sort of have to read 'Dreams' to understand that... but I'll save you the work and say that basically when Raz and Shira were younger they had little nicknames for each-other. You should be able to figure the rest out.**

**I only own my OC's, like I said in the disclaimer in the summary.**

**Mikayla: That means me!**

**Me: Shut up you, you're not even in this chapter!**

**Mikayla: I know, that's why I'm here! So my adoring fans can still see me!**

**Me:... You know almost everyone hates you, right?**

**Mikayla: WHAT?! Why?!**

**Me: Just read the reviews and you'll find out. But like she said, this is an all-pirates chapter. Sorry! **

**Mikayla: You should be!**

**Me: Ugh! Does anyone know how to get rid of a sabretooth?!**

* * *

Shira lay on the floor of the cell, stroking her sleeping cubs. Raz sat beside her, watching the seven little fluffballs as they slept heavily. They hadn't opened their eyes yet, as they were only a few days old now, but Gupta and the rest of the crew still hadn't seen them. The Captain had kept them busy organizing everything after the raid, but Squint had told them many stories about the cubs behind Gutt's back. The crew had planned to come down that night, so Raz was expecting them any minute now. As if on cue, the sound of claws on ice and flapping wings reached the kangaroo's ears, and she grinned as she saw her brothers come running towards her.

"Zip i', you guys!" she whispered quickly "Ya don' wanna wake the kids, do ya?"

The crew hurriedly slowed down and spoke quieter, but their faces lit up at the mention of cubs. Even Flynn was there, because despite his stupidity, Shira was certain he wouldn't tell the Captain - either accidentally or on purpose.

"Aww, look at the cute little cubbies!" exclaimed Flynn, his voice too loud. It woke up Diego Jr. and Ranger, but neither reacted much until they picked up Squint's scent. Diego Jr. gave a toothless little grin, while Ranger groaned again. Everyone - minus Squint, of course - laughed at this, finding it quite amusing that for some reason the three-day-old cub couldn't stand Squint, even though he'd delivered him.

"Wow, Squint," sighed Silas, laying a wing around Squint's shoulder "Ze child really does hate you."

"I know, what did I ever do to him?!" Squint waved his arms around as he spoke, showing his exasperation, but managed to effectively hit Shira in the face as he did so.

"Well, the fact that you just hit his Mom in the face probably won't help," commented Boris, ending in everyone but Squint in stiches laughing - even Diego Jr. and Ranger! As a result of this, Shi-Shi and Ghost woke up, mewling to show their dislike of so many people crowding around them. Shira cuddled them protectively, but accidentally woke Lightning while doing so. None of the cubs had opened their eyes yet, but everyone could tell as soon as they woke up.

"I guess we might as well wake up the others," said Shira with a shrug, licking Razzy awake. The cub's eyes stayed closed, but she yawned quietly. Shira nuzzled her, while Raz leaned over and gently patted Tiny awake. But Tiny did something none of the others had ever done. Her eyes shot open, revealing her azure orbs, just like her mother's. Everyone stared at her, gobsmacked, as she turned her little head from side-to-side, observing the world for the first time. She then looked Shira in the eye, a toothless smile spreading across her face as she recognised her mother.

"Her eyes," breathed Shira "T-Tiny opened her eyes..."

"She got 'em from ya, Sheila," Raz told Shira with a grin, stroking Tiny on the head. The young cub blinked a couple of times, memorizing the kangaroo's face. She recognised Raz's scent, and briefly recognised her voice. Tiny still couldn't hear very well, as she had only started to hear the night before, but Raz and Shira talked a lot so Tiny was fairly used to both of their voices. Shira carefully lifted her youngest cub to her chest, cradling her.

"Little Tiny," she sighed into the cub's silver fur "Sweet, little Tiny."

Raz silently lay down beside her sister, hugging her close. Shira's other six cubs cuddled against her stomach, nursing painfully. Tiny started mewling too, so Shira set the cubs beside her siblings, where she started nursing as well. Flynn flopped down beside Shira, on the opposite side to Raz, so Shira and her cubs were protected on all sides.

"INCOMING!" yelled Gupta and Squint at the same time, to be quickly shushed by Shira, and leapt through the air. Gupta landed on Shira's stomach, startling the hungry cubs, while Squint landed against her chest, snuggling down into her fur. As revenge for being jumped on, Shira licked Squint fondly, causing him to try to wipe it away and mime puking again.

"Your fault for jumping on me, bro!" giggled Shira, with a casual shrug. Silas carefully flew over to Shira and settled on her shoulder, nudging her affectionately with his beak. She nuzzled him in return, before turning to her last brother.

"You coming over?" she asked Boris, who looked up all of a sudden.

"Huh - me?"

"Yeah you!" laughed Shira, gesturing for him to come closer. Raz nodded and patted the space next to her invitingly, which Boris gladly accepted. He lay between his two sisters, enjoying their body warmth, as it comforted him in a way he wasn't used to. Raz stroked his head, which made him laugh, even though it came out kind of snortish, his siblings knew what he meant.

And there they fell asleep, all cuddled together. Rather strange for pirates, but perfectly normal for brothers and sisters. Which they were, of course.

"Aww, that's it Kitty. Enjoy it while it lasts," drawled a hairy ape from the sidelines "Because your precious family will be all gone tomorrow."

* * *

The next morning, the pirates awoke to a certain monkey's battle cry. The groggy crew quickly rose, fearing their Captain. The cubs started whimpering, and little Tiny closed her eyes in fright. Shira tried to cradle all seven cubs, which is obviously impossible, but Raz helped by cuddling Lightning and Shi-Shi, which effectively calmed them down. The rest of the crew hurried above deck, hoping that Gutt didn't rip into them for not being there. Squint instantly began forming an excuse, but he couldn't think of any way to get out of the situation without blaming Shira, which he definitely wasn't going to do!

"Captain!" called the rabbit, getting Gutt's attention once the whole crew was above deck.

"First-Mate Squint!" snapped the ape "Where were you all?!"

"Oh, uhm..."

"Answer. The question, Mister Squint," hissed Gutt darkly "Where. Were you?"

Squint blushed, unsure of what to say. He didn't want to be punished, but the only way that could happen would be if Shira got punished instead, which would be unacceptable, because then Gutt would surely find out about her seven cubs! The poor hare was so confused...

* * *

Back below deck, a kangaroo and a sabre listened intently to the conversation, hanging on every word. Raz got to her feet.

"Where are you going?" asked Shira fearfully.

"Ta help our brotha ou', tha's where," she answered.

"I want to come too!"

"But Sheila, the cubs..."

"I'll just have to leave them down here!" declared Shira, but she didn't seem happy about it. Suddenly, an idea hit Raz.

"Alrigh' Sheila, 'ere's wha we'll do," she said firmly "Ah'll take the weapons outta mah pouch, an' then ya can put the cubs in there 'til the battle's over."

"B-But, won't the guys need the swords?"

"Yeah, but Ah'll carry the swords up to 'em. There, problem solved."

Shira nodded, and carefully took Lightning and Shi-Shi from Raz and hugged them to her chest. Tiny stared up at Shira, blue eyes glowing with intelligence and worry. Shira licked the cub's head fondly, trying in vain to calm her down. Although her efforts didn't calm the cubs down, it did distract them, which is what she wanted, because it gave Raz a chance to empty her pouch of weapons before she put the kids in.

She picked up Ranger first, as he was the biggest, and carefully lay him down in the bottom of her pouch. Next came Diego Jr. and Lightning, who both snuggles into the sides of Raz's pouch happily, not questioning the new enviroment as it was warm and still had Raz's familiar scent. Then, Razzy entered the pouch, giggling at the new sensation of being placed into a kangaroo's pouch. She started reaching out with her paws to find out what this new enviroment _felt _like too, but she scratched around a little.

"Now, now, no clawin' ya lil' ankle bitah's!" Raz warned them, bending down to pick up Shi-Shi and setting her down inside the pouch, where she joined her sister in a giggling fit. Raz rolled her eyes at the small cubs, before scooping up Ghost and Tiny in one go and sliding them both into the pouch with their siblings. Although the cubs seemed comfortable enough, after some wriggling around of course, Raz worried that there wasn't enough space for all seven of them, and the fact that she could see the shape of all seven cubs when she looked in the ice didn't make her feel any better about squashing them all into her pouch.

"Stop fussing, Raz! They're fine!" Shira assured her sister, who never had understood how the silver sabre seemed to read minds like that. Raz sighed.

"'Kay, Ah guess i' should do fer now."

Shira nodded, and got to her feet. Raz collected her weapons, struggling to hold them all. Shira noticed that the weapon Raz really couldn't hold was the spiral-shell spear, which she couldn't even get off the floor.

"Here Raz, I'll carry the spear in my mouth and give it to you when you've given the guys their swords," offered Shira, to which Raz nodded and thanked her. The sabre bent down and carefully picked up the spear by the shaft with her mouth. With a nod from Raz, who hurriedly hopped up above deck, Shira followed her sister up to the fierce battle that was sure to ensue.

* * *

Squint backed away from an extremely angry Captain Gutt.

"P-please Captain, I can explain!" he begged.

"Ugh, been there, done that, Squint!" Everyone turned to see Raz and Shira standing together, putting up a united front "Trust me, you should just save your breath little bro, he's not gonna listen!"

"Little. Bro?" hissed Gutt, to which Shira raised her eyebrows as if to say "Did I not just say that?!" and the others nodded firmly "There is no relation between you two. There is no relation between ANY of you! You're all a bunch of dumb animals who I've saved over the years, who've all got the ridiculous idea into their thick skulls that somehow they're siblings! Do you understand?!"

By this time, Gutt had leaned so far forward Squint had to lean back to avoid the Captain's bad breath. He pretended to wipe spit off his face before speaking.

"I _understand _that you spit when you talk, that you have no idea of the concept of family and that you REALLY need a mint!" he stated simply, propping himself up on his knife when Gutt backed off in surprise. The monkey reached behind him and started picking up whatever bone swords were lying on the deck. Raz cleared her throat pointedly, and the crew stared at her.

"Boys! Catch!" she shouted and threw them all their weapons, which they deftly caught, and Shira gave her the spear. To Gutt's surprise, the crew crowded together and stood there, all guarding each-other.

"Okay guys, I guess I'll just have to-" Gutt grinned at the pirates maliciously, pointing his swords at them "ATTACK!"

Out of instict, Shira roared and ran forward, but Gutt expected that. Despite the fact that she was a girl, and that she was the youngest of the crew, Shira always attacked first, because she was typically the one people were most afraid of. Gutt threw his swords in the air and grabbed the sabre's leg, yanking her off the deck.

"SHIRA!" exclaimed the whole crew, but only Boris noticed that the swords were falling quickly back towards the ship. Gutt noticed too, and purposely held Shira above his head so that they would stab her instead. Well, they would have, if a small, slender possum with soft fur and a dark fringe that fell over one eye hadn't appeared out of nowhere and started clawing at Gutt's eyes.

"What the-" Gutt dropped Shira on the deck and swiped at the possum, missing by miles as she'd climbed up on top of his head.

"Haha! Failure!" laughed the possum, brushing her fringe out of her eyes with one paw and resting the other on her hip. The crew all stared at her, heads tilted to one side, until Shira groaned in pain. Gutt went to grab her again, but the possum whacked him in the eye with her tail. He stumbled back, mumbling in pain, and the possum leapt off his head. He fell off the edge of the ship, only just gripping the edge with his claws.

The little possum ran over to Shira, carefully checking the sabre for bruises and cuts. After satisfying herself that Shira wasn't in extreme pain, the possum turned to the rest of the crew.

"Hi everyone!" she called cheerily, waving. The crew stared back at her, confused.

"Uhm... hi?"Squint decided to speak since no-one else had "I'm Squint... what's your name?"

"Tasmin. But everyone calls me Taz," she grinned at them, offering her paw. Squint hesitantly shook her paw, watching her warily the whole time. 'Taz' rolled her eyes. "Okay, let me clear this up right now. I am on _your _side, okay? I'm against the monkey!"

As if on cue, Gutt climbed back up onto the deck, attempted to stand in a threatening pose, and cleared his throat for their attention. Taz raised her eyebrows at him, giving him that "Dude, no-one's buying it!" look.

"Aww, a cute, little possum!" drawled Gutt "I hate cute, little possums!"

"And I hate fat monkeys with stupid hair, what's your point?" asked Taz, folding her arms and tapping her foot, as if awaiting an answer. The crew couldn't help chuckling at that, which caused Gutt to glare at them.

"Alrigh' guys, iss' mah turn now," declared Raz, before charging forward with her shell-spear. Taz leapt out of the kangaroo's way just in time, afraid of being stood on. Gutt grabbed a random weapon (which turned out to be Buck's dino-tooth knife - worst luck!) and prepared to fight Raz, but he didn't need to. Forgetting about the seven cubs squashed into her pouch in the heat of the moment, the kangaroo lunged, but little Tiny slid out and landed on the deck of the ice-ship. Her azure eyes blinked uncertainly as she tried to work out what was happening, before widening dramatically when she spotted the ape running towards her.

"Not gonna happen!" shouted Taz, grabbing Tiny by her stubby tail and pulling her out of Gutt's way. This caused the Captain to face-plant the ground, and left him slightly dazed. Raz, preparing to make the dramatic, final stab to end Gutt's life, hopped forward a few times, before promptly tripping over nothing and falling forward. Her shell-spear imbedded itself in Gutt's back, and blood soaked into the monkey's fur. He didn't make any sounds or movements, so they all assumed he was dead. For good this time.

* * *

The crew, plus Shira, the cubs, and Taz, stood at the front of the ship, watching the herd's island approach.

"Finally," breathed Shira "I'm finally heading home!"

"Hey, Taz?" the small possum turned to see Squint looking at her.

"Yeah... uhm, Squint, right?"

"Yeah, that's right. I just wanted to say that, well... you were great back there. Ya know, fighting Gutt and stuff."

"Thanks," Taz grinned "But I can't take _all _the credit. Raz was the one who actually killed him!"

"Oh yeah, I meant to thank you for that Raz!" Shira nuzzled the kangaroo "You saved all of us! You were amazing!"

"Nah, Ah wasn'," sighed the kangaroo dejectedly, stroking the little Razzy "Ah messed up real bad... Ah almost got Tiny killed!"

"Yeah, but you didn't!" Shira tried to reassure her "You beat Gutt! You had the bravery and courage to walk, well hop, up and stab him with that spear!"

"Ac'ually, Ah didn' do tha on purpose, Ah jus' tripped an' fell," she confessed, blushing under her purple fur.

"What did you trip over?" asked Taz curiously, as she hadn't seen any trip hazards on the deck. Raz blushed even more.

"Nothin'. Ah tripped ovah the air!"

Shira rolled her eyes playfully, licking Tiny, who was between her paws, on the head. Taz sat on Shi-Shi's back, while the blind little cub batted at the possum with her paws. Razzy squirmed in the kangaroo's arms, trying to find Raz's face so she could smile at it. Raz dropped her head dejectedly, embarressed.

"Don't worry Raz," Squint assured her "There's nothing wrong with falling over! In this case, it was a good thing!"

"He's right," agreed Shira "You saved all of us when you fell!"

"And it proves you have skill!" added Taz. Noticing the strange looks she was getting from everyone, she explained "It takes SERIOUS skill to fall over air!"

For some reason, the crew started laughing at that statement, and they couldn't stop. It was as if they were letting out all the laughter they'd bottled up during their years at sea, and they all felt great for doing so. Shira, cuddling a very giggly Tiny, watched as her siblings genuinely laughed, enjoying it. She'd missed this side of them; the real side. While they were violent, scary pirates, they did still have their family moments, and Shira had always treasured them. Now that Gutt was gone, Shira could always appeal to this kinder side of her siblings, and she need not fear punishment. She was so happy with her family at the moment, but she couldn't wait to get back to her other family.

She just hoped that somehow, her two families could be combined.

**Okay, what did you think? Good? Bad?**

**Taz: How could it be bad? I'm in it!**

**Me: Oh, that reminds me! I don't own Taz either, scoobs5601 does, but she requested that she be included, and I agreed (I LOVE Taz!) so that's how she got here. Hope none of you mind, and if you do, I'm sorry. And she doesn't have the Charlie background either, she's a full possum in this.**

**Taz: Explaination for anyone who hasn't read Inside A Red Notebook by scoobs5601: In IARN I was a human but I became a possum. No more spoilers!**

**Me: *rolls eyes* Thanks for reading and please review!**

**Taz: Review, review, review!**


	9. A Strange Day and A Secret Meeting

**Hey, I'm back! I know, I know, I ought to update Roshan's Return, The Girls In The Ice Age and Ice Age Interviews! Well, for Roshan's Return I don't know what's happening next, for The Girls In The Ice Age none of the original 'Girls' are really friends now so I'm stumped at the mo (if you guys are reading this I hope you feel bad about yourselves for fighting over NOTHING!), and for IA Interviews I just haven't decided who I'm gonna interview next. Probably whoever gets the most votes and/or questions sent in.**

**Disclaimer: Yeah, this is in the summary but Taz is in this now so I kinda have to put it in so that people don't think that the amazingly awesome Tasmin Possum was invented/is owned by me.**

**Taz: I belong to scoobs5601 and I'm from their story Inside A Red Notebook!**

**Me: Good girl! *pats Taz on the head and gives her lemon flavoured Fruit Drop***

**Taz: Yay! My favourite! *eats Fruit Drop***

**Me: And now I'm gonna stop this before it ends up longer than the actual chapter or something. Hope you enjoy!**

**Taz: Got any more Fruit Drops?**

**Me: *rolls eyes***

* * *

Diego lay on his stomach beside the river, watching his lonely reflection shimmer in the small ripples. He sighed miserably. The quiet of the riverside soothed him, the emptiness of the little clearing he was in calmed his nerves, the-

"WOO! I'M GONNA BEAT YOU GUYS!" came a very familiar cry from the trees. _So much for quiet, _thought Diego, rolling his eyes. Peaches burst through the trees, swinging with her trunk of course, Meghan running not far behind. At trail of dirt was visible, and soon Louis popped his head out of the ground, brushing dirt out of his hair. _So much for empty!_

"Okay Peach, you win!" sighed Louis in defeat, to which Peaches punched her trunk in the air excitedly.

"Ha! I told you guys that tree-swinging is the fastest way to travel!"

"I don't care whether it's fast or not, I'm not tryin' it!" said Meghan firmly "I'll stick with being slow, thanks!"

"I'm with Meg on this one, Peach," agreed Louis, calling the girls their nicknames having become second nature by now "I'd rather be late and well than on time and puking my guts out!"

"Nice. Nice mental image there, Lou," commented Peaches. The three had grown so incredibly used to each-other in the months after Shira's capture that they naturally called each-other by their nicknames. In fact, if they didn't, people got worried.

Peaches, Meghan and Louis all stood there, chatting about nothing in particular, for several minutes until Diego made any noise.

"I take you guys were all having some kind of race to decide who's the fastest, right?" he asked, sick of being ignored. Peaches nodded.

"Yeah, that's right!" she smiled. Louis and Meghan both waved at the orange sabre.

"Hey Mr. Diego!"

"Hi Diego!"

"Are you guys seriously just noticing me?" Diego knew the answer; he just wanted to hear them say it for some reason. Everyone, outside of the herd of course, ran off in terror when he was near them. No-one ever failed to spot him, but it wasn't so bad when he had Shira around too. It reminded them that he did have a soft side, even if they almost never saw it.

"No," lied Peaches smoothly "You just looked deep in thought so we didn't want to disturb you."

Silently, Louis mouthed "Thank-you!" to her, and Meghan nodded firmly. Peaches chuckled lightly and rolled her eyes at her best friends in the world.

"Okay," Diego pretended to buy Peaches's excuse "I guess I was." He sighed again "I miss her Peaches."

"I know," she sighed "We all do. But, I think we all need to get our minds off her a little bit. I mean, almost four months and we're all still depressed over it? There's grieving, and there's letting stuff hold you back. This, it's holding us all back."

Diego nodded, knowing she was right. Peaches comfortingly wrapped her trunk around her uncle's broad, orange shoulders, hugging him close. For once, Diego didn't care what anyone walking by would think of a mammoth hugging a sabre. He was just glad of some comfort that wasn't Mikayla's creepy attempts at not flirting or his awkward moments with Buck, who also needed consoling.

The weasel had yet to get over the death of Rudy, the white baryonyx who he always fought. Nobody knew the cause of his death, but Buck and the possums had found the body one day when adventuring in the woods. Same day Shira disappeared actually, so Buck and Diego were kind of in the same boat on this one.

"Hey, how about we have a little campfire tonight?" suggested Diego randomly after a few moments. Peaches and her friends nodded excitedly, as although the plans for their campfire party were approved and remained a secret, they wanted to test a couple of ideas, and what better way than at an actual campfire?

"Okay then, I'll go talk to your Dad about it," Diego grinned at his neice and her friends before turning and walking off into the woods. Waiting until he was out of hearing range, Peaches turned back to her friends.

"So, I take it you two are sleeping over tonight, right?" Peaches turned to Louis and Meghan.

"Probably. But I ought to go check with my family first," answered Louis, and Meghan nodded.

"Me too. But after what happened at the Gyro-Drop a few months ago, my parents are cool with pretty much anything that keeps me away from the Brat Pack."

Since siding with Louis and Peaches, Meghan had started referring to Ethan and co. as the Brat Pack, which Louis and Peaches secretly found ironic, considering she was once a member. But neither would say it to her face, as the three had never once fallen out and they never wanted to.

Louis burrowed home to ask if he was allowed, but Meghan stayed for a little bit. Upon Peaches's encouragement, she attempted to swing on the branch of a nearby tree a couple of times, and utterly failed.

"HA! That's the patheticest thing I've ever seen!" laughed one of Ethan's friends, Drake. Peaches rolled her eyes, and Meghan copied her after jumping down from the tree.

"Drake, if you're gonna take the time to insult me, one of my BFF's, my Mom _and _two of my uncles, you could at least use proper grammar!" Peaches, after seeing the confused look on Drake's face, added "The proper grammer would be: the most pathetic, not patheticest!"

"In your own words: BURN!" Meghan grinned at Peaches's nod of approval. Then, they both swept their fringes out of their eyes with their trunks and walked off in unison. After getting out of sight and hearing range, they started giggling like idiots, holding trunks and squealing about their victory. _I really, really, really hope he goes and tells Ethan all about it, _thought Peaches, a grin spreading across her face, _He'll think I'm soo awesome!_

* * *

Diego sauntered off into the forest, pleased with himself. He'd checked with Manny, the 'leader' of the herd, and the campfire was approved and supported. He ran and ran for a bit, just burning off the extra energy he had for some reason, before his stomach started growling.

"Huh," he wondered aloud "I guess it's time for dinner!"

"Cool, mind if I tag along?"

Diego spun around, and was slightly surprised to see Mikayla standing behind him, panting a little.

"D-did you, follow me out here?" Diego asked her. She shook her head, but it was obvious she had. He rolled his eyes at her, but waved her along anyway. He didn't have an awful lot of friends, and he couldn't afford to lose another one.

* * *

"I. Am. SO. TIRED!" moaned Taz, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"Why are _you _tired?! I've been carrying you this whole time!" Shira shook herself so that the small possum fell off her back. Lucky for Taz, Squint saw this coming and caught her just before she hit the ground.

"Phew, thanks Squint!" sighed Taz, before it dawned on her that Shira had purposely dropped her "Hey! Not cool, Shira!"

Shira chuckled to herself, but stopped abruptly when she felt something whip across her cheek. The sabre looked down and saw Taz, now standing on her own two feet, holding her tail in a threatening pose. When Shira growled at the possum, Taz struck the sabre again, but lighter, showing that they were only play-fighting.

This carried on for several minutes, and resulted in both of them rolling on the floor with laughter, while the other pirates just stood there and rolled their eyes at their younger sister as she laughed with Taz.

"Seriously though Taz, do you want me to carry you again?" asked Shira, still recovering from her laughing fit. Taz shook her head.

"Nah, I think I'll walk. If I'm gonna complain that I'm tired I might as well do something to actually _make_ me tired!" The possum grinned up at the silver sabre. Their sweet moment was interrupted by Raz's pained gasp.

"Aw Sheila, your lil' ankle-bitah's are movin' around again!" the kangaroo complained. Boris had Lightning - who earlier in the day had opened his amber eyes - on his back, and Gupta was carrying Ghost, but Raz still had five of the seven cubs in her pouch and they wouldn't stay still. She didn't have any experience with joeys, so the only animals she'd ever carried in her pouch were Shira, Squint, Gupta and Boris when they were younger, and much smaller.

The poor, exhausted crew had docked late morning, and by now it was early evening, so despite her love for the little cuties, Raz was getting sick of carrying them. Shira sighed.

"Sorry Raz, we should be there soon!"

"You've been saying that all day," pointed out Squint "I think you're jinxing it or something!"

Shira glared at her brother, but she feared he was right, so she shut up quickly just in case. After around ten minutes of silence, they heard voices, one familiar, one new.

"That's Diego!" exclaimed Shira, referring to the familiar voice "See, I told you we were close!"

Then, without warning, she took off running. It took the crew and Taz a couple of seconds to process what had just happened, but when they did, Taz hurried after the sabre, muttering to herself about how annoying it was when animals ran too fast, with the crew trailing behind.

* * *

Shira ran and ran, hearing Diego and whoever he was with clearer as she got closer. Before long, she couldn't hear any more voices, but she knew where she was going by then anyway so it didn't matter.

"SHIRA WAIT UP!" yelled Taz, scampering after the sabre.

"Sorry!" panted Shira, slowing down ever so slightly "I'm just excited!"

Taz finally caught up with Shira, and hopped up onto her back as all the running had tired the little possum out. Shira didn't object, because this meant she could speed up again. She raced up to the clearing where the voices had been coming from, and would have crashed straight through the bushes, but she had a bit of a Louis moment and failed to see the rock in front of her. It was only small, but it was enough to make her face-plant the ground in a very undignified manner.

"Ow.." she muttered, getting up and rubbing her cheek "Well, that hurt."

But she shook it off, and for once Taz didn't take the opportunity to tease someone about falling, as they were right in front of the bushes now. Cautiously, Shira parted the bushes with her paw so that she and Taz could see, and guess what they saw? Diego and Mikayla. Kissing.

Shira's jaw dropped open, Taz's eyes grew wide, and both felt frozen with emotion. Taz was worried for Shira, and she had to admit she pitied the sabre for having to see that on her first day back. Meanwhile, Shira herself had a strange mixture of anger, hatred and heartbreak. When her blue eyes filled with tears that soaked into the soft fur on her cheeks, Taz decided the poor sabre had seen enough and closed up the gap in the bushes, sealing the new couple away.

"Look, Shira I-"

"Let's go," Shira interrupted her, starting to walk back to the pirates, a depressed look on her face.

"Uhm... maybe it wasn't what it looked like?" suggested Taz, but you could tell by her voice that she didn't believe that was true.

"He's replaced me," breathed Shira "He's actually replaced me."

"C'mon, I'm sure it's not like that," Taz tried unsuccessfully to lighten Shira's mood. Seeing that her attempts were fruitless, and watching Shira sink down to the ground beside a large oak, breaking down in silent tears, suddenly the possum's vision turned red. She whistled a complicated tune loudly, and Shira paused to listen as it echoed through the forest.

"What was that about?" she asked, her voice shaking with sadness.

"You'll see."

* * *

Mikayla and Diego pulled apart at a strange sound echoing through the forest.

"What's that noise?" asked Diego curiously, as Mikayla had been on the island longer than him.

"Oh, that happens every once and a while. Some sort of signal I think, but it rarely happens. And anyway, there's no danger to worry about."

Diego nodded, and before he knew what she was doing she had leaned in for another kiss, and for some reason he didn't push her away, despite how wrong it felt to actually kiss her.

* * *

Two young snow wolf cubs were playing together in a field, when they heard a familiar sound echo through the trees towards them.

"Ugh!" moaned one of the cubs "Why does Tasmin always call right when we're having fun?!"

The other shrugged, not realising it was a rhetorical question, and they took off into the trees.

* * *

The pirates joined an impatient Taz and a sobbing Shira just in time to see two wolf cubs charge through the trees. Tasmin leapt to her feet, as she had apparently been waiting for them.

"Rhianne, Herbert!" she exclaimed "What took you guys so long?!"

"Sorry Taz," the oldest, Rhianne, rolled her eyes "Our teleporter broke down so we couldn't come as soon as you wanted us."

"Whatever," muttered Taz "Rhianne, Herbert, this is Shira, Squint, Raz, Boris, Gupta, Silas and Flynn. They're pirates. Guys, this Rhianne and Herbert. They're, umm... some old friends of mine."

Taz didn't really want to explain the real story to the pirates just yet.

"Uhm... cool. So why are they here?" Squint said, trying not to offend them. Taz grinned evilly.

"They're excellent prankers. And they're gonna help us get revenge on that fudgebag of a sabre!"

"No!" everyone turned to look at Shira, who'd managed to stop crying long enough to talk "They're not."

"But Shira they're really good at pranks!" insisted Taz. Shira sighed.

"Look, no offense to them, but I don't care how good they are at pranks!" she sounded kind of despairing now "If Diego wants _that_-" she jerked her head in the direction of the clearing "-Then I hope he has a long, happy life with it!"

"Are ya sure, Sheila?" Raz lay a reassuring hand on the sabre's shoulder "Coz they seem like they know wha they're doin'. An' tha sabre deserves wha he's got comin' if ya ask meh."

"No," Shira repeated, shaking her head "I'm not getting revenge."

Raz nodded understandingly, and Rhianne slowly padded up to Shira, followed by her brother.

"If you change your mind, I'm sure Tasmin can teach you the whistle," she said kindly, licking Shira's cheek. Shira nuzzled both the wolf cubs, before letting them head back home. Silently, the pirates settled down beside Shira, comforting her, Taz deciding to lay down between her ears. The seven cubs lay down beside her stomach, hungrily nursing.

"I just... feel kinda bad not telling the herd I'm back," she sighed, after several moments of silence.

"Well, why don't we go and see them then?" suggested Flynn, ever happy as always. Shira sighed.

"Because I wouldn't know what to say to them. And anyway, I don't think I could stand being near Diego or that little witch after what we just saw."

"So, it's basically just Peaches and Louis that you miss most, am I right?" asked Squint, to which Shira nodded "Okay then, let's just go visit them!"

"No, they'll be with the rest of the herd by now," Shira closed her eyes to hide her tears "Besides, I still wouldn't know what to say. I mean, I can't just walk in there and be like 'Hey guys! I'm not dead, I have cubs now, and I've brought the pirates too!' Yeah... I'm sure that would go down well."

"Okay, good point," admitted Squint "But still!"

"Ah have an idea!"everyone looked at Raz "Why don'tcha jus' leave the kids a lil' present or somethin'? Ya know, jus' ta ease your mind 'bout not tellin' em yet?"

The crew made no noise for a minute or two as they processed the idea, but when Shira enthusiastically nodded and started grinning it was pretty much confirmed.

"Great idea!" Shira's face suddenly fell "But, what would I leave for them?"

Silence fell over them for a couple more minutes as everyone thought about what Shira could give to the kids as a present. Suddenly, Taz leapt to her feet as an idea came to her, startling Shira, whose head she was still on.

"Oops, sorry Shira!" Taz apologised quickly "But I have an idea! There's a Dahlia field not far from here! We could pick some flowers for Peaches!"

"Alright, but what about Louis? I can't just forget about him!"

"I agree, but I'm sure you'll figure something out."

"Okay, but you do know you're helping me with this, right?"

"Aw, nuts!" sighed Taz "Okay, okay, I'll help. But we'd better get going. The field's close, but I have no idea where this herd lives, so we should hurry to make sure we get there on time."

Shira nodded, but looked down at the cubs cuddled against her stomach. They weren't hungry anymore, but she still felt bad leaving them.

"Don't worry Shira, we'll babysit ze little ones for you," said Silas, earning him a lick on the head from his youngest sister. She thanked them, then headed off into the forest with Taz.

* * *

_**A few hours later**_

The herd's campfire was just about coming to a close. They were just finishing their 'campfire karaoke' thing, but it hadn't been the same without Shira there. Little did they know, she was hiding in the bushes with Taz. Louis could've sworn he saw a pair of glowing blue eyes in the bushes, but dismissed it as his imagination.

"Okay, one more song before we hit the hay?" suggested Manny. No-one objected, so he took that as a yes. "Alright, any requests?"

There were none, so it became obvious to everyone what song they were going to sing. Not needing a cue to know when to start playing, Louis been banging on rooks to create music.

_"We are, we are, not your ordinary fam-mily but we can all agree that we are, close as close can be!"_

"That's too close!" interrupted Granny.

"I wonder who's gonna sing my lines?" Shira muttered to herself. To her anger, Mikayla stood up to sing:

"_So it don't matter what it looks like, we look perfect to me! We got every kind of love I feel so lucky indeed!"_

Shira stopped growling as Ellie sang:

_"They can keep on talkin', it don't matter to me coz, we are, we are-"_

_"Family!" _everyone finished the sentence. Peaches smiled as she sung:

"_Okay, so the links in our chain, makes us strange,"_

_"But really they make us stronger!" _sang Ellie firmly. Peaches nodded.

"_And I wouldn't replace not a thing! Mother-"_

_"_Or father!"

"Go Manny!" laughed Sid.

"_Coz we come from everywhere," _sang Meghan.

_"Searching for one's who care!" _Louis hugged Peaches and Meghan's trunks as he sung.

"_Somehow we found it here," _Crash, Eddie and Buck grinned at each-other, proud of their singing.

"_We found us a home!" _sang Mikayla, much to Shira's chagrin.

"_We are, we are, family!" _everyone finished the song, and although no-one could hear her, Shira sang the last line.

One by one, the herd headed off to their caves, but Shira and Taz still gave it a couple of minutes to make sure the herd were asleep before sneaking out of the bushes. Shira started with the sloth cave, as it was the closest and her conscience had convinced her she should give Granny a gift too. She carefully knotted the long stalk of a flower around Granny's cane, muttering about the annoyingness of conscience's._  
_

To get to the mammoth's cave, she had to pass the cave she used to share with Diego. She saw them sleeping next to each-other, not on the rock - as Diego still refused to sleep there without Shira - but it was enough to annoy her anyway. After a bit of nagging from her conscience, she decided she ought to leave Mikayla something too. She slipped into the cave, stuck the smallest flower between Mikayla's paws, and darted out again quick as a flash.

She hurried to the mammoth's cave next, being careful not to make any noise. She went to the tree where Ellie was sleeping first, and delicately braided a flower into the her hair. Next, she turned to Meghan, and tucked a colourful flower behind her ear. Lastly, she padded over to Peaches, who was asleep on the ground as she had friends over, and carefully arranged a few flowers in the mammoth's brown hair. Pleased with her work, she left the cave, and would've disappeared again, if she hadn't heard a voice behind her.

"Shira?" the voice repeated. Shira didn't need to try and work out who the voice was, as she recognised it immediately. She turned and saw Louis standing a few feet behind her, having obviously watched her the whole time.

"Hey Louis," she replied, trying to sound casual. His eyes grew wide, and Shira felt her heart melt.

"H-how are you here?" he asked, sounding confused "Y-you were... and Gutt took..."

"Louis," he looked up at the silver sabre "I'll explain it all, but let's go outside first. So we don't wake the others."

He nodded, willing to go along with anything she said at that point. He followed her outside, to the still-burning fire, where a small, slender possum sat, warming her paws.

"Ready to go?" asked Taz, springing up off the rock she was perched on, not seeing Louis.

"Well, uhm... you see, there's been a slight delay," Shira sighed, and stepped to the side, revealing Louis, who had been hiding behind her leg "Taz, this is Louis. Louis, this is Tasmin. Or Taz, for short."

"H-hi, Louis," stammered Taz nervously, brushing her fringe out of her eyes "Nice to meet you."

"You too," replied Louis with a grin, shaking her paw. Taz blushed a little under her fur, but Louis didn't notice. "So, Shira, how did you get here? _When _did you get here?"

"I got here this morning," answered Shira with a smile, accidentally-on-purpose nudging the two closer together after seeing the sparks between them "And I got here with some help from Taz and," she took a deep breath "The pirates."

Louis shuddered at the mere mention of Gutt and the crew, memories of that day when he had faced the monkey rushing through his mind. Sensing this, Taz gently guided him towards the rock she had been sitting on earlier, wrapping an arm around his shoulders for comfort. She knelt beside him as he slowly sat down, squeezing him gently. He smiled at her gratefully, his big eyes making her heart melt slightly.

"Sorry Louis," sighed Shira "I didn't mean to upset you."

"You didn't," assured Louis_ "_I just, uhm..."

"I get it. That monkey's freaky, right?" said Taz with a grin, shaking her fringe out of her eyes again. Louis raised one eyebrow.

"You know Gutt?"

"Oh yeah, I've faced him too. Man, that dude was so creepy..."

"Was?" questioned Louis. Shira and Taz grinned at the same time.

"Let's just say he's pillaging in pirate heaven," explained Shira. Louis's face lit up.

"Awesome!"

"I know, right?" Taz smirked, her eyes meeting his. Shira let them stare at each-other for a little while, before she remembered how late it was and that her cubs would need her. She considered leaving Taz with Louis, but she wasn't convinced she knew how to get back to the pirate's without Taz's help.

"Uhm... Taz?" Shira tapped Taz on the shoulder "We, kinda need to... you know, get going."

"Oh right, yeah," sighed Taz "Okay so, do you think we could come back sometime soon?"

"Well duh!" laughed Shira, nuzzling Taz and Louis "I couldn't stay away from these guys for long!"

"Good," Louis smiled "Wait, why don't you just stay?"

Shira sighed "It's kind of a long story. I'll explain another time, but part of it is Softie and his new Kitty."

"Ugh," scoffed Louis "I hate Mikayla."

Shira grinned at him, before waving with one paw. Taz smiled awkwardly up at Louis for a moment, before giving him a gentle hug and standing up again. She helped him up, and waved as he walked back to the cave, not wanting to tunnel as it would leave evidence he'd been outside in the night. When he got to the entrance, he turned around again and saw Shira and Taz standing side-by-side near the fire. They both waved, and he smiled at them, before going back inside and settling down to sleep.

Shira and Taz smiled at each-other, and ran off into the bushes, as an un-said race had been declared.

**So, whaddaya think? Yeah, little bit of LouisxTaz there. I know a couple of you have thought I was trying to start a TazxSquint thing... well, that wasn't on purpose, but I have an explaination for that now. It'll be revealed in later chapters.**

**Thanks for reading and please review! BTW, you guys probably won't care about this, but I went to see Les Miserables yesterday and it was AWESOME! I ended up crying for a lot of it though... yeah, I'm a wuss, so what?**


	10. Getting Caught and Making Up

**Hey everybody! Updating this story as soon as I can because a) people seem to want me to, and b) I need a pick-me-up because of my dumb friends and this story always cheers me up! This chapter especially! You'll see what I mean at the end. And I know that Rhianne and Herbert might've seemed random and pointless, but they play a role later in the story. Just a random note, Rhianne was actually named after one of my best friends, who has been going through a rather rough patch in her life, and although she'll probably never read this I just wanted to dedicate a character to her :)**

**Oh, and anyone whose been reading one of my other fic's, The Girls In The Ice Age, don't be surprised if that gets discontinued, because unless people actually want me to keep going with it I'm not going to, at least, I don't think I am. It's not that popular, and like I've already said 'The Girls' aren't even friends anymore, so I'll maybe post a Chapter 3, as I've started it, but that'll probably be it.**

**Bliss: Aw! That's not fair!**

**Me: Don't blame me. Blame my friends, it's their fault! Even though The Girls characters (Bliss, Tori, etc) get along fine, it makes me feel kinda sad because the real group isn't friends anymore. And anyway, if nobody really wants me to continue then I'm just making myself feel bad for no reason whatsoever. Thanks for understanding!**

**Don't own Taz, she belongs to scoobs5601, she's from Inside A Red Notebook and she gets a little gift in this chapter...**

**Taz: Ooh, what?**

**Me: You'll find out. Please read and review! Wait a second, wasn't it your idea in the first place?**

**Taz: Oh right, _that _little gift. **

* * *

Shira's POV

Ow! What was tha-OW! Okay, guess I gotta go eat someone now. My eyes snap open, and let's just say I'm not best pleased to see Taz sat on my head, tugging at my earrings.

"Dude, what are you doing?!" I demand, batting her off my head. She folds her arms and sulks, but I can tell this isn't gonna be where it ends.

"I was just looking at your earrings..."

Ugh. I hate my conscience. First, it convinces me to give that witch of a sabre a flower, and now it's making me feel incredibly bad for little Taz. Nope, not apologising. Not apologising...

"Sorry Taz!" I sigh, giving in "I didn't mean to upset you, but you hurt my ear when you pulled my earrings."

"Oh, sorry," she says, standing up again "I didn't mean to pull them, I just find them very interesting. I've never seen an animal with earrings before."

"And now you've seen two," I smile at her, somehow finding this extremely sweet. She reminds me of Peaches...

"Yeah..." she sighs dreamily "Wait, what? How have I seen two animals with earrings?"

"Me and Squint..." I say, confused. She looks as confused as I feel.

"Squint has earrings?" she asks. I nod.

"You never noticed?"

She shakes her head, while I raise an eyebrow at her. It's strange, so many people don't notice his earrings, I guess mine are more obvious... being blue and green against silver fur and all...

"Hey, I've just had an epic idea!" she exclaimes, excited. Uh-oh...

"What?"

"You could pierce _my _ear!"

"Wait - seriously?"

"Sure, why not?" she shrugs "You must know how it's done, since your's has been pierced, and I wanna stand out from the crowd like you do!"

"Taz, you stand out from the crowd just by being yourself," I sigh tiredly, closing my eyes and resting my head on my paws again. Suddenly, I feel Taz climbing on my head again, most likely about to- OW! Yep, I was right. She's messing with my earrings again, and it hurts quite a lot.

"Okay," I open my eyes again "If I pierce your ear, will you stop tearing mine?"

She nods, and lets go of my green earring. Figures. It would be the biggest one she pulled on, wouldn't it? I sigh and stand up, shaking my sleepiness away. Taz hops off my head and lands neatly on the ground, her fringe flopping in her face.

"Woo!" she cheers, but I quickly shush her, as the last thing we need is the others waking up and finding out about this "Oops! Anyway, c'mon let's get this ear pierced!"

She tugged on her ear for emphasis, but she's forgetting two things.

"Yeah, two problems with that. One, we need to get Lotus berries first to numb your ear because trust me getting your ear pierced hurts like crazy. Two, we don't even have anything to use as an earring."

"... Okay, two valid points," admits Taz "But the sooner we start, the sooner we finish, right?"

I sigh, giving in again. I head off in the direction of the beach, where Lotus berry plants are the most common. Taz tags along after me, as she knows where I'm going, _and _that I can't get back without her.

...

Having found some juicy Lotus berries (and avoided the herd - bonus!), we head back along the clifftops. That was my idea - I've always loved cliffs. I don't know why, but for some reason they calm me. Plus they're great to run along, like I used to do with - no. I'm not thinking about him. He's gone, and I know he's never coming back. I hate that 'Mikayla' sabre about as much as I hated Gutt, but she is pretty and even I have to admit she's a great singer, heaps better than me. No wonder Diego wants her instead.

I sigh depressedly for what must be the hundredth time, and Taz decides it's enough.

"Okay, what's up?" she asks. I was tempted to roll my eyes carelessly at her, but denial is confirmation. "It's Diego and that thing, right?"

I don't respond, as like I said, denial is confirmation. But she's still giving me that look... I guess silence is confirmation too.

"Alright, you got me. Yeah, I'm upset about Diego! Happy now?"

She shakes her head. "No, because you're not. Now, how can I cheer you up?"

"You can't," I answer simply, because it's the truth "I'll never be cheery again."

"You weren't that cheery anyway..." she mutters, but I'm pretty sure I wasn't supposed to hear it. I decide to let it go, as I honestly don't have the energy to argue with her at the moment. Besides, she's just like me; stubborn and hard-headed. She never backs down, and neither do I. Suddenly, I spot two glistening shells lying in the long grass, the sunlight sparkling on them.

"Shira? What are you looking at?" asks Taz, but I don't respond because I'm concentrating. I pad over to the shells cautiously, examing them. They're both blue, but one's noticably paler than the other. Sort of like the sky and the sea on a sunny day, I guess. They're pretty small though, just about small enough to... hey, I have an idea.

"Hey Taz, remember how you wanted earrings?" I ask. She nods, so I carry on "Do you think that these would do?"

I hold up the two shells in one paw for her to see. Her blue eyes widen, and she nods in answer to my question. I grin at her.

"Okay then, let's go home."

I let her ride on my back, partly because she's tired and partly because she keeps looking at those shells so she'll probably trip and fall if she walks.

...

I stare down at her, not sure whether or not I should do this. She seems to want it, but I'm so afraid of hurting her. We're back 'home' now, and I'm about to pierce her ear. Well, I might be...

"Taz.. are you sure about this?" I ask uncertainly. She nods.

"Absolutely positive!" Sensing my hesitation, she adds "C'mon, I'm not one of the cubs! I can handle it!"

"I'm still not sure..."

She turns around and gives me that 'What am I? Five?' look, but as she does so her hair slides off her face again. I sigh in aggrivation, and after retracting my claws, gently brush it out of the way. Aww, she's so sweet, kinda like Peaches... I shake that thought off, and return to piercing Taz's ear.

Normal POV

Taz sat on a rock, waiting as patiently as she could for Shira to pierce her ear. Thinking her ear had already been numbed, Taz wondered whether the earrings were already in, and she just couldn't feel them yet.

"Are they in yet?" she asked impatiently. Shira rolled her eyes.

"No, not yet."

Taz chewed her lip nervously, wondering "I hope Louis think's they're pretty," she muttered to herself, forgetting that sabre's have sharp hearing.

"You like him, don't you?"

Taz froze in shock. _How did she hear that?!, _the possum wondered, eyes wide with fear.

"I don't know what you're tal - OW! Son of a-"

Shira rolled her eyes and removed her claws from Taz's ear, where there were now two holes. Taz clutched her poor ear, pouting at Shira.

"Why didn'tcha numb it first?" demanded Taz, her eyes wet and glossy. Shira blushed under her fur.

"Actually, I thought I had. Sorry, I was distracted."

Taz scowled, grabbed a Lotus berry and tried to slit the skin with her claws, which were too blunt for the job. Shira smiled, took the berry from Taz, pierced it with one claw and squeezed a few drops of juice onto Taz's ear. The possum muttered her thanks, rubbing said ear. Shira pried the possum's paws off of her ear, and got the shells ready.

"C'mon, we need to put the shells in now."

Taz sulked "But my ear might start hurting again."

"Yeah, but if we don't put in your earrings the holes will close up and we'll have to pierce them again."

Hurriedly, Taz let go of her ear, allowing Shira to attach the shells. The sabre carefully poked a hole in one shell, carving out a section of it so it would jangle, before clipping it to Taz's ear. Taz winced, even though she couldn't feel it. Shira grinned, and repeated the actions with the second, slightly darker, shell. Taz smiled when she heard that they were both in, and shook her head a few times, listening to her new earrings click together.

"Happy?" asked Shira. Taz nodded.

"So happy, I love them!"

"Great." Shira smiled at the little possum as she ran to a nearby sheet of frozen ice and admired her reflection.

"Yeah, great, amazing, CAN YA KEEP IT DOWN!" moaned Squint, rolling over and going back to sleep, seemingly disturbed by Taz's sounds of pain. Taz and Shira looked at each-other, then rolled their eyes. Shira padded over to Raz, who had reluctantly mumbled something about holding onto the cubs while Shira went earring-hunting with Taz. The sabre gently retrieved her seven children from the sleeping kangaroo, and lay down a few steps away, cradling the cubs to her chest.

Taz returned her attention to her reflection in the ice sheet, admiring the blue hoops in her ear. She grabbed a few locks of her dark hair, trying new styles to see which one looked best with her new accessories. She tried sweeping her fringe off her face completely, but then decided that it looked better hanging slightly over her eye. Carefully, she dipped her paw in the grass, collecting a few dew drops, and slicked her fringe into place. Shira was just falling asleep when...

"OMG! AUNTIE SHIRA!" screamed Peaches, running up to her sabre aunt and grabbing her with her trunk.

"Shunumbungers!" gasped Taz, leaping back in fright and falling off the small rock she was stood on. Little Tiny started squealing, as she was now squashed between her mother and her cousin's trunk.

"Hey Peach," gasped Shira, barely able to breathe "Think ya can stop suffocating me and my daughter now?"

"Oh, yeah, sure," said Peaches quickly, letting Shira and Tiny down onto the ground "Wait, daughter?!"

Shira nodded. "Yep, three of 'em. And four sons."

"OMG, You and Uncle Diego have seven kids?!" exclaimed Peaches. Shira nodded again, and gently arranged her children in age order in front of her. Peaches, Louis and Meghan's eyes widened in surprise, watching as Tiny blinked her intelligent blue eyes at them.

"You never mentioned you had kids!" said Louis accusingly, before turning to Taz, who was climbing out of the long grass. "Hey Taz!"

"Oh, uhm... hey Louis," Taz replied shyly, brushing her hair off her face nervously. Peaches raised an eyebrow at Meghan, and she nodded as they both thought the same thing: Those two have crushes on each-other.

"Erm... hey, you guys," said Squint a little awkwardly, catching the attention of the three teens who hadn't noticed the pirates.

"GAH, PIRATES!" Peaches jumped back, causing Louis to fall off her head, where he had been sat. Quick as a flash, Taz darted over and caught him, setting him down gently on the ground.

"Guys, guys, calm down!" Shira attempted to create peace between her neice and her siblings, while ignoring the pain of her children nursing. "The pirates are on our side!"

"They are?" asked Peaches, as Meghan was still too confused and afraid to do anything. "Since when?"

"Uhm... long story," sighed Shira "But the point is they aren't going to hurt you."

"Okay," Peaches shrugged "Now c'mon, we gotta get back to the herd!"

Shira's face noticably became paler at the mention of going back to the herd, images of Diego and Mikayla filling her head "Do I have to come?"

Peaches looked confused. "Well, you don't _have _to, but I thought you'd want to." Hoping to convince Shira to come back, she added "Uncle Diego's waiting for you."

"I know," groaned Shira "Why do ya think I don't want to go back there?"

"Wait, I'm confused..." said Peaches, and Meghan nodded "I thought you loved Uncle Diego. I mean, you guys have seven cubs!"

"And he's been a mess without you!" interjected Meghan quickly.

"Yeah, well I'm sure he's happy enough with Mikayla," replied Shira, with a certain edge to her voice. Peaches, Louis and Meghan all looked confused.

"Huh? He hates Mikayla!" Peaches blurted out, with her two friends nodding.

"Didn't look like that yesterday..." muttered Shira. Taz shot the sabre a sympathetic look, before running over stroking her silver head. Shira rolled her eyes, but nuzzled the little possum anyway.

"What do you mean 'Didn't look like that yesterday'?" asked Meghan. Shira sighed, but attempted to explain what had happened. The poor sabre broke down in tears, unable to say the awful truth, so Taz explained for her.

"Oh my gosh, that's... disgraceful..." breathed Meghan once Taz had finished the story, and Louis nodded. Peaches seemed determined all of a sudden.

"Alright, here's what we do. Me, Meghan and Louis will go back to the herd, because Dad'll be wondering where I am, while Shira - and Taz if she wants to come - follow us. The herd's going out for some 'family time' today, and we're having a campfire party later, so you and Taz can hide in the bushes, and then we'll still be able to see you. Kinda."

It took everyone a minute or two to process what Peaches had said, and then another minute to think it through again. Then, everyone was satisfied that it would work, except for Raz, who worried that it might upset Shira to watch the herd without talking to them.

"Razzy!" whined Shira, rolling her eyes "I watched them last night and I was fine!"

"Uh, 'kay..." sighed Raz "Wan' me ta watch the cubs fer ya?"

Shira nodded "If you don't mind."

"'Course Ah don't mind, Ah love the lil' ankle'bitah's. S'long as they don't move 'round in mah pouch too much."

Shira smiled and licked each of her cubs on the head before giving them back to Raz, who cuddled them. Shira then turned to Taz.

"You coming?" she asked. Taz thought about it for a moment, then shook her head.

"I think I'll stay here and help with the kids," she said, but in truth she just didn't want to risk seeing Diego and Mikayla kissing again. Plus Diego's long teeth unnerved her a bit. Shira sighed.

"Okay, I guess I'll see you later then."

Taz nodded "See ya."

And with that, Shira, Peaches, Meghan and Louis headed off into the trees.

* * *

Manny was pacing back and forth, muttering about wondering where Peaches was. Ellie rolled her eyes, knowing that Peaches was probably just hanging out with her friends. Of course, she didn't guess _which_ friend in particular.

"Manny honey, I'm sure she's on her way home already!" Ellie assured him "She was probably just exploring with Meghan and Louis!"

"At this time in the morning?!"

"Why not?" agreed Sid "Remeber her sixteenth birthday? Y'know, when she snuck off in the morning and Shira-"

Sid quickly stopped speaking, as he'd realised his mistake. Diego tensed beside Mikayla, who subtly licked him on the cheek when nobody was paying attention.

"Shush! Not here, not in front of everyone," hissed Diego. Mikayla nodded, understanding. After what happened yesterday, they'd talked it over, and although they hadn't figured out what it meant, they'd agreed that the herd should definitely never know. Of course they didn't factor a certain sabre's return into that equation.

"Okay," she mumbled reluctantly, inching away from him slightly.

"PRECIOUS!" yelled Granny, hobbling into the clearing.

"Granny!" cheered Sid, running over and hugging his grandmother "I thought you were dead!"

"Can't a girl take a morning visit to her pet without people thinkin' she's kicked the bucket!" complained Granny, whacking Sid with her cane.

"What's a bucket?" whispered Crash to Eddie and Buck, who both shrugged.

"We're back!" announced Peaches, hurrying through the bushes with Meghan and Louis close behind. Shira stopped quickly, making sure she was hidden completely. While Manny went into one of his lectures, Diego squinted at the bushes. He could've sworn he saw two gleaming, blue lights, but they disappeared as soon as he spotted them.

Once Manny had finished talking, everyone got ready to leave on their family day out. Manny and Ellie - who had Buck, Crash and Eddie riding on her head - took the lead, with Sid and Granny following. Peaches -with Louis on her head - and Meghan walked along chattering quietly and glancing at the bushes, where Shira was watching them. Finally, Diego and Mikayla walked at the back of the group. Mikayla kept trying to talk about their kiss, but Diego refused to speak to her about it. The blue light in the bushes had reminded him painfully of Shira's azure eyes, and he felt incredibly guilty about kissing another sabre.

* * *

_**A few hours later**_

Silas flew in the air, Tiny on his back. He was talking the little child out for a ride, as she was bored and he decided she might want to see more of the island. Her big blue eyes grew bigger as she watched the world rush by, but her eyes grew even bigger as she recognised a familiar silver figure. They weren't very high, just tree-top level, so Tiny could clearly see the herd, her mother, and the strange tiger who looked just like her oldest brother.

Down below, Diego looked up at the sky and spotted Silas and Tiny. Recognising Silas instantly, he turned to Manny and yelled,

"Manny! Look! It's that bird from Gutt's crew!"

Manny looked up and saw the bird carrying the cub, as did everyone else, including Shira. She realised he was carrying her youngest daughter in the air, and mentally cursed herself for leaving them to take care of her kids. Quickly, the herd members, excluding Meghan, Louis and Peaches, began throwing stuff at Silas, trying to knock him down. They didn't succeed, but they did knock poor Tiny off his back.

The small cub tumbled to the ground, squealing and squeezing her eyes shut in fear. Without thinking, Shira leapt out of the bushes and caught the falling child in her mouth, nuzzlin her kindly before glaring up at sheepish Silas.

"Silas! Now look what you've done!" she yelled accusingly, indicating to the shivering cub in her paws.

"Sorry, _soeur_!" called Silas, to which Shira rolled her eyes. Cautiously, Ellie took a step closer to the sabre, but Manny wrapped his trunk around one of her tusks and pulled her back.

"Ellie! Be careful!" he said hurriedly. Ellie rolled her own eyes.

"Oh c'mon Manny, when has Shira ever been dangerou-" Ellie suddenly remembered that Shira was once a pirate "Okay, I see your point. But she won't hurt us!"

Shira smiled at her mammoth friend. "Thanks Ell. And Manny, shouldn't I technically be more afraid of you? I mean, you did kill me last Christmas!"

Manny blushed at the mention of his terrible mistake **(If you haven't read Wish Upon A Star you won't get it.)**, and looked back at Shira fearfully. "Uhm, yeah... you're not planning any revenge attacks for that are ya?"

She sighed and licked Tiny's head. "Nah, not planning anything. I've kinda got a lot to handle at the moment."

Sid looked confused. "Wait, what do you-"

He was cut off by Diego's roar. The orange sabre leapt through the air, knocking Shira onto her back, and growled at her.

"Alright, stop right now!"

"Stop what?" she asked.

"Stop pretending you're on our side. You're obviously still working with the pirates, and you've obviously got a mate or something working with you too!"

Shira glared at him. "Yes, I'm with the pirates, yes I have a mate, but no, he's not exactly working with me right now!"

Now Diego looked confused. "What do you mean he's not 'exactly' working with you?"

"I mean he's pinning me to the ground, accusing me of being against him and his herd, and threatening me!" she snapped, tears in her eyes. Diego pulled back slightly, taking in what she'd said.

"D-do, you mean, me?"

"Duh!" she rolled her eyes at him.

"Err..." Diego looked from Shira, to Mikayla, then back to Shira, who glared at him.

"Now get off me," she hissed.

"But Shira, I-"

"Get. Off me."

Carefully, Diego stepped off her, allowing her to run back over to a very terrified Tiny. Peaches, Louis and Meghan hurried over to her, ignoring Manny's warnings, and attempted to comfort the silver sabre.

"Want me to go get Raz?" asked Peaches kindly. Shira nodded silently, cuddling into her niece.

"Raz? The crazy kangaroo? No way!" said Manny firmly "You're not going anywhere near her Peaches!"

"She's not dangerous, Daddy!" insisted Peaches "She's babysitting the other cubs and-"

"Other cubs?!" interrupted Diego "There are other cubs?!"

"Oh, yes," Everyone turned to Silas, who had landed on a nearby tree branch "Over there is little Tiny, ze youngest and littlest, and then-"

"Silas!" Shira shouted at him "Don't tell them about the cubs!"

"Hey, they're my cubs too!" protested Diego. Shira sighed, knowing he was right, lifted Tiny off the ground in her mouth, and placed the cub in front of Diego. His eyes grew wider, and he carefully leaned down towards the little child and licked her on the head. After several minutes of silence, Ellie caught everyone's attention.

"Hey guys, maybe we should leave Diego and Shira alone for a bit to, uhm, you know... catch-up."

There were general murmurs of agreement, and the herd hurried ahead, leaving the two tigers alone with their youngest daughter. Silas was still perched on his branch, not really wanting to leave his sister alone with Diego.

"Hey Silas," called Shira "Do you wanna, oh I don't know, get outta here?!"

He muttered something in French, before flying off to somewhere else. Shira turned back to Diego, a little nervously, but he just smiled at her. He walked closer, and although she tensed, she still didn't move away. Gently, he rubbed his head against her shoulder, purring quietly. Smiling, she licked the back of his neck, starting to purr herself. He wrapped his forelegs around her, pulling her close, before lying on the grass, holding her to his chest.

"Uhm, shouldn't one of us get Tiny?" said Diego, after a moment. Shira nodded, and attempted to get up again, but Diego gripped her tighter. "No way, I'm never letting go of you again!"

Shira rolled her eyes, but cuddled into him anyway. Keeping one arm firmly around Shira, Diego stretched one foreleg over to Tiny, pulling the cub close too. Shira kissed her daughter's cheek, then kissed Diego's neck. He chuckled and kissed her on the head.

"So, am I forgiven?" he asked. Shira was about to say yes, before she remembered he had kissed Mikayla.

"Well..."

"Well, what?"

"It's just... I saw you and Mikayla yesterday and-"

"Stop right there. I love _you_. I always have, and I always will. I didn't want to kiss Mikayla, _she _kissed _me_. The only animal ever alive that I want to kiss is you." Diego smiled as he felt Shira lick his neck. "Now, do I get what I want?"

In answer, Shira pressed her lips against his, making him blush. But he hugged her and Tiny anyway, purring as soon as they pulled apart. Shira giggled and kissed him again, smiling happily. Tiny looked up at her parents, but instead of acting grossed-out, she smiled, knowing how much her parents cared about each-other.

But not everyone was so happy about it. Watching from the bushes, Mikaykla growled lowly as Diego and Shira kissed.

"I'm gonna get you, Shira. Watch out."

**Okay, what didja think? Good? Bad? Kinda late? (Yeah, yeah, I know!)**

**Huh, Mikayla out to get Shira. Ya know, I never planned that, but it's fitting into the story pretty good now, because-**

**Taz and the pirates: Don't ruin the plot!**

**Me:... I was just gonna say I know what's going to happen in the big showdown...**

**Taz: Oh, okay. Carry on.**

**Me: *rolls eyes* Thanks for reading and please review! And yay for the longest chapter yet! I think...**


	11. Open Eyes and Real Names

**Hey, this isn't a very dramatic chapter, but it's sweet and necessary for the story :) Started this within half an hour of posting Chap 10, believe it or not, so hoping you guys like this! You can probably guess what happens from the title, but I'm very glad this chapter has finally come because holy fudge it's been hard remembering to call the cubs by their nicknames! There was actually a typo in an earlier chapter where it said the cub's actual name and I freaked when my friend (who I based Tori Charmlink on) told me. She helps a lot with my stories, so thank you so much to her!**

**Taz: I belong to scoobs5601 and I'm from IARN.**

**Me: Getting sick of saying that?**

**Taz: Kinda.**

**Me: Lol, welcome to our world. We have to put disclaimers on every chapter!**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

Diego and Shira were walking through the trees, Tiny on Shira's back, just talking. Manny had agreed that Diego could go back with Shira and meet the rest of his children, which he was incredibly glad about. He would've gone anyway, but it was nice to have permission for once.

"So, this little girl's Tiny? And what're the names of the others?" asked Diego, reaching over to Tiny with one paw. She licked his paw, giggling slightly. Diego tickled her under the chin, and she burst into a full-scale laughing fit.

"Oh great, she inherited that from me too," muttered Shira. Diego's ears pricked up.

"Are you ticklish?" he tried to meet Shira's eyes, but she kept looking away from him "Shira? I never knew you were ticklish!" he sounded evil all of a sudden. Shira looked at his eyes, and saw a gleam mixed in with the emerald colour. She started to back away from him, but he advanced on her, until she started running. He chased her through the trees to the pirates, stopping only when Raz threw a fish-bone sword at him, thinking Shira was running from him because he was trying to hurt her.

"Woah!" he gasped, jumping to the side. As if reading Shira's mind, Taz quickly ran up and grabbed Tiny, pulling her off Shira's back. This allowed Shira to run over to Diego and pin him to the ground.

"Shira, what're you-" began Diego, but Shira very effectively shut him up by kissing him on the lips.

"Ew, now I gotta go puke again!" complained Squint. Raz rolled her eyes and hit him on the back of the head.

"Shuddup Eastah Bunny, they're havin' a momen'!"

Shira grinned and pulled away. Diego grinned back, unexplainably happy that he finally had his Kitty back. She nuzzled him kindly, which he quickly returned, but stopped when Squint started dry-heaving, another thing Raz hit him in the head for.

"Alright, do you wanna meet the other kids now?" she asked. Diego nodded eagerly, licking her on the cheek when Squint turned away. She smiled and licked him back, getting up and heading over to Raz, who had the other cubs at her feet. She picked up the oldest, the boy who looked like Diego, by the scruff and carried him to his father.

Diego closed his eyes and gently licked the cub's face, amazed at how lucky they were to have at least one child that looked like each of them. Just as he was wondering what colour this boy's eyes were, he heard Shira squeal.

"What? What's wrong?" he asked frantically, his eyes snapping open. He was surprised to see that the cub had opened it's emerald eyes and was looking right at him. It reminded Diego of a time when another young cub opened it's eyes and looked right at him.

"What should his name be?" asked Shira. Diego didn't even need to think.

"Kendall," he said firmly. Shira tilted her head to one side for a second, watching the cub, before nodding.

"It suits him," she commented. Diego nodded.

"I know, I used to have a younger brother called Kendall who looked just like him. He was killed by hunters."

Shira, not quite sure how to answer that, retrieved the second oldest cub, who was nicknamed Razzy. Suddenly, little Razzy's eyes snapped open, revealing her pale brown orbs. Diego looked up from licking Kendall's head to see his oldest daughter staring at him. She blinked a few times, and Tiny started squealing happily that one of her sisters had opened their eyes.

There was a rustling in the bushes, and Tiny burst into tears. So did Kendall and the others, except Razzy and Ranger. Ranger squared his little shoulders and tried to growl, but it came out as a purr. Razzy cuddled her siblings, comforting them.

"Aww, look at that," cooed Gupta "She's comforting them!"

"It's like she's givng them hope," muttered Boris absentmindedly.

"Yes, ze little one is very focused for a child her age," commented Silas, but Shira had stopped listening after 'she's giving them hope'.

"Hey, it is like she's giving them hope..." she agreed, smiling "How about we call her Hope?"

Diego thought for a minute, then nodded.

"Yeah, it suits her."

Shira licked the child's head, before setting her down beside her brother Kendall. Diego lay down in the grass and cuddled the christened children to his chest, while Shira retrieved Ranger and licked him to calm him down. He sighed and rolled his hazel eyes, opening them as he did so. Shira gasped, and nuzzled the independent cub lovingly.

"Alright, so we nicknamed this little guy Ranger because, well... it's a long story," sighed Shira, not knowing how to explain it "What do you think we should call him?"

"Hmm... Ranger..." Diego thought for a minute "Sounds kinda like danger, which I definitely think this guy is gonna be when he's older. Why don't we just keep his name as Ranger?"

Shira thought it over for a bit, then shrugged. "Sure, why not."

Diego pulled Ranger close and licked him, but the cub had a hilarious reaction. He rolled his eyes again, and swatted his father's tongue with one paw. Trying not to laugh, Shira quickly grabbed Lightning by the scruff and set him down in front of his father.

"Take it this one was nicknamed Lightning?" asked Diego, licking the cub's ears. Shira nodded. "Well, I really don't think there's any other name that would suit him better!"

Shira smiled and nodded again. She went to pick up Shi-Shi, but was surprised to find the cub had a leaf tied around her eyes (Like Buck's eyepatch but over both eyes). She turned to her pirate brothers and sister and gave them 'the look'.

"Why?" she said, raising one eyebrow. All of the pirates looked sheepish all of a sudden, and a few turned slightly red under their fur.

"Vell, uhm... she opened her eyes, and I, I mean, _we _thought the first thing she should see should be one of her parents," explained Gupta nervously. Shira smiled.

"What colour are her eyes?" she asked, her voice soft and sweet. Gupta smiled.

"Vhy don't you take a look yourself?"

Shira moved the child closer to Diego, so that he could see too, and gently removed the blindfold. Two stunning, jade green orbs shone back at her, just a few shades different than Diego's emerald. Neither parent needed to ask what the girl's name would be, as it was obvious.

"Jade," they said in unison, smiles on their faces. While Diego pulled his daughter to his chest, Shira collected Ghost, and brought him back to where Tiny was waiting patiently.

"So, what about this little fella?" she asked, nudging him closer to Diego, who shrugged and turned to the pirates.

"Any ideas?"

No-one spoke for a while as they tried to think of something to name the youngest boy, until Gupta raised one paw.

"How about Casper?"

"Why?" asked Shira curiously, but she found the name rather suited the white cub.

Gupta shrugged. "He looks like a Casper."

Shira looked at Diego, who also shrugged. "It suits him. I think we should go with that," he said. Shira nodded, and turned to Tiny, who blinked innocently before giving a cute little grin, knowing all eyes were on her. Taz rolled her eyes.

"She's such a little show-off!" she laughed, stroking Tiny's head.

"Okay, any names in mind?" Diego asked Shira, who tilted her head to one side as she watched the child.

"Well, she's so little and adorable, so her name has to be something sweet too," commented Shira "Hmm... how about Tina? Ya know, coz she's so tiny."

Diego smiled and nodded. "Tina... I love it."

Squint grinned. "K, so we got Kendall, Hope, Ranger-the-Dangerous, Lightning, Jade, Casper and Tina."

Nods from both parents confirmed his statement, and all was silent as they just watched the children until Tina started giggling. This made everyone else laugh, and seeing the pirates actually crying with laughter over nothing in particular made Diego realise they really weren't all that bad. And after seeing how well Shira fitted in with them, like a family, he felt the full guilt of allowing Precious to blast them away. He began to realise the herd wasn't the only unusual family in the world...

* * *

**_Two hours later_**

Shira smiled at Diego's sleeping form, and gently licked him awake. It was only coming up to midday, but as they had all woken up very early they'd all taken a little sleep. He batted at her with one paw, before he remembered who it was. His eyes shot open and he hurriedly licked her back.

"Have a nice nap?" she asked, somewhat teasingly. He rolled his eyes and pulled her to his chest.

"Yeah I did. Best I've had since you left, actually." When Shira raised one eyebrow, he explained "I had you here."

She blushed slightly, and licked his neck. "Love you Softie."

"Love you too, Kitty."

Their sweet moment was interrupted by Shira's most annoying brother dry-heaving again. "Yuck, get a cave you two!" complained Squint "You're making me feel like I'm gonna barf!"

Shira smirked deviously. "Hey, it can't be worse than delivering the cubs, can it?"

Squint visibly shuddered at that remark, and shook his head firmly. "No, that will always be the grossest, most disturbing thing I will ever experience!"

Hope gave an annoyed little humph, as if to say "Gee, no offense taken Uncle Squint!" Diego gave Shira a questioning look. She sighed and explained. "When I gave birth to the cubs, Squint was the only one on board the ship, so he had to deliver the kids."

Unable to stop himself, Diego began to laugh. Shira laughed too, snuggling deeper into Diego's fur. She wrapped her forelegs around him, hugging him warmly, and he started to purr.

"This reminds me of when you rescued me from the lake," he murmured into her silver fur. She froze suddenly, pulling back, or at least, attempted to, but Diego was holding her too tight for her to move.

"Wait, you remember that?"

He grinned down at her. "Yep, I had a dream about that a month or so ago."

She smiled at him, before cuddling back into the warmth of his fur. "Well, yay. I'm glad you finally realised!"

He raised one eyebrow skeptically. "What do you mean 'finally'? How long have you known for?"

"I realised that night in the tree-prison," she explained with a smile. She waited for an answer, but instead she got an affectionate kiss on the head. Diego nuzzled her happily, pressing his lips against her head a few times before leaning away from her a little. She figured out where he was going and looked into his eyes, getting lost in the emerald orbs. Lovingly, Diego wrapped one foreleg around Shira's shoulders, then pulled her in for a kiss. Right as their lips were about to touch, they heard an adorable little sneeze.

Casper sniffed, squeezing his eyes shut. Shira laughed while Taz hugged the little cub. Purring contently, Casper finally opened his eyes slightly, revealing his very, very pale blue orbs.

"Aww!" cooed Taz "His eyes are so beautiful!"

Shira rolled her eyes, quickly kissed Diego when he wasn't expecting it, and leapt to her feet again. Diego hurriedly climbed to his feet too, giving her cheek a quick lick as he did so. She rolled her eyes and batted at him with her paw playfully. He was about to lick her again when Squint started dry-heaving once again, Taz and the cubs joining in this time.

"Aw, cut 'em some slack!" came an Australian voice from behind them "The lil Sheila hasn't seen her mate in months, an' Ah'll bet the lot of ya would wan' a bit of time to be lovey-dovey after tha' too!"

"Thanks Raz," replied Shira with a smile, nuzzling her sister. Raz stroked the silver sabre's back gently, before accidentally-on-purpose shoving her at Diego, who hurriedly steadied her. Raz grinned mischeviously at Shira, who jokingly glared back. Diego tried to kiss her again, but she wriggled out of his grasp before he could.

"Not right now," she sighed. She was lost in thought, trying to decide what she should do. She loved the herd so much; Peaches and Louis were great fun, Ellie was a fun, quirky person to be around, Crash and Eddie - as much as they annoyed her with their pranks - gave her a good laugh a lot of the time, as did Sid and Granny. Manny could be... a challenge at times, but she generally liked him and was fairly sure she could turn to him any time she needed. And Diego... no words were needed.

But the pirates had been with her, at her side, for as long as she could remember, she just couldn't picture life without them. She'd tried to adapt to it after the Continental Drift, but she just hadn't been able to. She missed them too much. And now she had them back by her side, where they belonged... she couldn't stand the idea of losing them again. The problem was, the herd wouldn't accept the pirates after what happened with Gutt. And Shira was pretty sure her siblings wouldn't be too thrilled at the idea of living with Manny and his family, anyway, because of the incident with Precious. She sighed again. Life was so unfair...

* * *

**Oh man, I am so sorry this is so short! Again, short, non-dramatic chapter with a slightly sad ending, but it's necessary, and I think most of you will agree that the cubs' names and them opening their eyes deserves to stand as a chapter on it's own. If you disagree, I'm sorry for that too.**

**Hey, I have a lot of the plot worked out, but any ideas are welcome, because I could do with a few little fillers. Thanks for reading and please review! :D ME LOVE REVIEWS!**

**Taz: You're so strange...**

**Mikayla: Yeah, I know right?!**

**Me: Okay, I can tolerate Taz making fun of me, but Mikayla you'd better shut up or there's a water gun in your future!**

**Mikayla: *gulp***


	12. Becoming Friends and Making Arrangements

**Hi there! Yeah, I'm back. Sorry, I am updating this as fast as I can but I have homework and tests and stupid friends and a friend moving away tomorrow and... yeah. I'm kinda stressed, could ya tell? Lols. Anyways, don't own Taz, do own Mikayla (sadly), the rest of it's in the summary, bla bla bla.**

**Hope you like and please review! :)**

Out of sheer exhaustion, Shira had fallen fast asleep again, leaving Diego alone to talk to the pirates. It was awkward, and honestly he wanted her to wake up, but didn't have the heart to wake her himself, as he knew she was very tired what with the cubs, the incident with Gutt, and everything else that had happened to the poor sabress.

"So, Diego," began Gupta, attempting to break the ice a little "How are you?"

Taz raised an eyebrow. "How are you?" she repeated "That's the best you could come up with?"

He shrugged. "Vell, you try something then!"

"Sure thing," she replied, hopping off the small rock she was perched on and cuddling a sleeping Tina "Hey Diego, aren't the cubs just so cute?!"

"Yeah, they really are," he smiled at his children "I hope I can be a better father to them than Soto was to me. Do you know the story of that?"

"Yep, Shira told us after she joined the crew," explained Raz "She went on an' on 'bout ya fer ages."

"Really?" asked Diego in surprise. Raz nodded, grinning. Taz turned to Gupta and gave him the I-told-you-my-idea-was-better look.

"Vhatever..." he muttered under his breath. Taz smirked again, before hugging Tina again. The little cub squeaked happily in her sleep, enjoying the attention even though she wasn't awake. Taz cradled the cub in her arms, laughing as Tina batted sleepily at the possum's new earrings.

"Hey, how'd you get those earrings?" Diego asked, to which Taz smirked even wider.

"Shira," she answered somewhat absentmindedly, as she was concentrating on trying to figure out what Tina was dreaming about. Diego was surprised, but upon realising Taz's utter lack of concentration he decided not to question it. Instead, he pulled Shira closer to him and started messing with her ears. Shira smiled in her sleep; even though it annoyed her, she'd missed it when she was taken by Gutt. Actually, she'd missed everything, even...

"PRECIOUS!" yelled Granny, wandering into the clearing, closely followed by a panicked Sid. Okay, so she hadn't missed _everything_. The cubs all awoke and started mewling, and Shira herself grunted in irritation. Diego rolled his eyes.

"You really are a disaster waiting to happen, aren't you Sid?"

"It's not my fault!" he protested "One minute she was by my side, the next minute she's gone! I don't know how she does it!"

"It's called walking, Sid," mumbled Shira sleepily "That's how everyone else gets around when they're carrying you. You too, Taz."

"Jeez, someone's moody when they get woken up," said Taz, one hand on her hip. Shira rolled her eyes.

"Hey, Snow White!" snapped Granny, clonking Shira with her cane "Only I get to undermine my grandson!"

Squint leapt through the air, appearing in Granny's face, holding his knife in a threatning pose. "Hit my sister one more time. I dare ya."

Not catching onto the threat, Granny hit Shira on the head with the cane. Before Diego had a chance to react, Squint, Gupta and Raz had all lunged forward. Swiftly, Shira darted in front of them, knocking Granny backwards into Sid and tripping up the pirates.

"If you guys are gonna make a good impression, you might wanna start by NOT mauling Sid's grandmother!" said Shira strictly.

"Yes, Shira," sighed the pirates, as Diego pulled his still slightly sleepy mate to his chest.

"Ooh, cute cubs!" exclaimed Sid, running over and grabbing Kendall, lifting him up "Hey, this one looks like you Diego!"

"Careful!" shrieked Taz, leaping over and rescuing Kendall "You're gonna hurt him!"

Taz gently set Kendall down beside his siblings, who instantly starting nursing. Shira growled in pain at first, but relaxed when Diego kissed her on the forehead. She purred a little, and he stroked her.

"Okay, I guess Sid's too excited to leave the cubs, so we'd better take them back to the herd," said Diego, secretly pleased that they'd be heading home.

"Uh, yeah... I suppose so," replied Shira dejectedly "Time to head home..."

She was happy to see the herd again, as she really had missed them, but she didn't want to leave her siblings in case Manny wouldn't let them stay. Gupta patted Shira's paw reassuringly.

"Don't vorry, Shira. Vhy don't you go and see the herd again, you've missed them."

"We'll be fine," added Taz "We'll wait here and see you soon, right?"

Shira nodded. "Definitely. Thanks guys."

Diego and Sid looked confused. "Why don't you guys just come?" asked Sid, to which Diego nodded. They all looked surprised, as they hadn't been expecting the invitation.

"Sid, Manny would blow a fuse," explained Shira "You heard what he said earlier when Peaches offered to go get Raz!"

"Yeah, but anything you want to make you more comfortable," promised Diego "They can come with the herd if you want."

"Really?" she asked, and he nodded "Wow, thanks Diego. Do you guys want to come?"

"Uhm..." the pirates looked at each-other nervously. They all wanted to stay with their sister, but none of them were particularly keen on the idea of seeing Manny and his family again, especially Silas, who'd almost been knocked out of the sky by a rock earlier that day.

"I don't think it's a good idea if _everyone _goes at the same time," began Taz cautiously.

"Yeah, Manny would freak," agreed Squint.

"As vould his daughter, Peaches," added in Gupta.

"So maybe only some of us should go with ya, Sheila," finished Raz.

"Do you guys practice that?" asked Sid, referring to the way they all finished the sentence. Ignoring him, Shira shruged in agreement.

"Okay, so are any of you coming?"

"I'll come," volunteered Taz "Manny doesn't have anything against me yet anyway, and I guess it would be cool to see Louis and the others again."

"Ah'll come too, if ya want, bu' the mammoth ain't likely ta want me around," said Raz, Silas perching on her shoulder.

"I would come, Shira, but I have already seen ze herd and clearly I didn't make ze best first impression," explained Silas, to which Shira completely agreed.

"Uhm... I guess I can come if you want me too, although it probably won't go down to good..." admitted Squint, memories of when Ellie stood on him flooding his mind.

"Vell... I'll come to, but if that mammoth tries to kill me you definitely owe me one!" Gupta actually sounded kind of afraid, so Shira nodded and promised he'd be okay. Raz loaded the seven cubs into her pouch and helped Gupta, who had hurt his leg when he fell, back to his feet. When it became apparant he couldn't stand, Shira carried him on her back, which annoyed Diego slightly, as he'd wanted to have one foreleg around her when they were walking, to prove to himself she was really with him.

"Don't worry Softie, I'm gonna be right next to you the whole journey," she promised in a whisper, licking his ear.

"We'll stay here and guard ze cave," pledged Silas, with nods of agreement from Boris and Flynn.

"Okay then, home we go," said Shira, flashing a nervous grin.

"It'll be okay, Kitty," replied Diego. Shira pounced on him, Gupta hanging onto her back.

"Don't. Call me Kitty. We've been over this."

Diego grinned. "What? It's my petname for you!"

Shira smiled back, before pressing her lips against his in a passionate kiss.

"Ugh, gag me," muttered Squint, before Raz prodded him with the shaft of her spear.

"Hey Raz," called Gupta, sitting awkwardly on Shira's back "It might be a good idea to not bring that big, pointy spear vith you vhen you meet the herd."

"Huh... good point, Guppy," admitted Raz.

"Don't call me Guppy," mumbled Gupta, but he was drowned out by the small, stifled giggles and snickers from the rest of the crew. Shira and Diego had pulled apart by now, so Shira climbed off him and turned to Sid.

"Alright, are we going now?" she asked. Sid nodded, and lead the way back to the herd. Then, when they got lost, Diego took over and got everyone back on track.

* * *

Manny sat on his mossy bed, trying to make sense of what had happened. Shira's reappearance, Silas's presence, everything. Also what Shira had said:

_"Yes, I'm with the pirates,"_

What had she meant by that? Obviously she was getting along with them okay, as Silas proved, but were they good, or evil? Manny was starting to feel uneasy about Diego going back to the pirates with Shira alone, especially as he had been there all day.

"Aww, they're so CUTE!" squealed Peaches from outside the cave, then Ellie poked her head through the entrance.

"Hey Manny, come see Diego's kids! They're so sweet!"

Hurriedly, Manny exited the cave, and was pleasantly surprised to see Shira lying on her side, seven cubs snuggled against her stomach, with Diego sat beside her, cradling her head. Waiting in the bushes, unbeknownst to the herd, were Raz, Squint, Gupta and Taz. Earlier, Raz had taken the cubs out of her pouch, and lifted Gupta off Shira's back. The plan was for Shira and Diego to introduce the herd to the cubs, and then at a valid point in the conversation the pirates would emerge from the bushes.

"Wow Diego, seven kids? Is that normal for sabres?" asked Manny. Diego shrugged.

"Kinda. The general size for a litter is 1-6, most commonly 2-3," explained Diego "But sometimes you get seven."

"Two of them are pretty small, though," added Shira, patting Tina and Casper's little figures as they nursed again. Peaches petted them with her trunk.

"They're still the cutest things I've ever seen," she replied with a casual shrug.

"Same here," agreed Meghan, to which the rest of the herd nodded general agreement, except Louis. He had another certain someone in mind for the cutest thing he had ever seen, and unknown to him she was hiding in the bushes watching. Ellie stepped forward and stroked the cubs with her trunk like Peaches, but little Jade stopped nursing and curled up in Ellie's trunk, purring softly with comfort.

"Aww, Jade likes you Ellie!" Shira smiled at her friend. Ellie blushed slightly, but was quite happy the cub had taken a shine to her. Louis gently patted Casper on the head, and recieved a big lick in return. Louis laughed and hugged the eager cub, cuddling him.

"And Casper's taken a liking to Louis," confirmed Diego "Wonder if any of the other cubs will have a favourite member of the herd?"

"Well little Tiny seemed to like Taz," commented Louis randomly, not realising his mistake.

"Who's Taz?" asked Manny warily. Shira sighed. _Guess now's as good a time as any, _she thought to herself. She sighed, and turned to the bushes where she knew the pirates were.

"Guys, you can come out now," called Shira, waving them forward with her paw. Diego leaned close to her ear and whispered "You sure about this?" She shrugged and waved her paw again. After a lot of rustling and faint arguing from the bushes, a figure, namingly Taz, fell forward and landed in the tall grass.

"Ow..." she muttered, rubbing the back of her head "Hey, shoving is SO not cool!"

She was ignored, and shifted uncomfortably from foot-to-foot as Manny stared her down. Shira patted the ground beside her invitingly, and Taz hurried over,. whispering her thanks to the sabre as she did. Upon seeing Taz, Tina's big blue eyes lit up, and she crawled through the grass to greet the possum herself. Next to come out was Squint, but he had no weapons with him in case his, uhm... shall we say, problems, kicked in. He kept his paws behind his back, as he had a peace offering.

As soon as he saw Squint, Manny took immediate action. He shoved Peaches and Ellie closer to the caves, Meghan and Louis moving with them, wrapped his trunk around Diego, pulling him away from a startled Shira, and retrieved the seven cubs. Shira looked at Peaches for an answer, but got a shrug, shake of the head and the Don't-ask-me look.

"Manny? What's going on?" asked Diego and Shira in unison, before grinning sheepishly at each-other and blushing. Taz and Squint both looked at each-other and gagged, earning a glare each from Shira.

"What's going on is that she's still working with those pirates, and thanks to Diego and Sid leading her back here we're all in danger!" ranted Manny. Hurriedly, Squint pulled whatever-it-was out from behind his back.

"A peace offering," he stated, advancing towards Buck. The weasel's eye grew wide, as the 'peace offering' was his own dino tooth knife.

"Me knife..." he breathed in amazement "How didja get me knife?"

"Cap'n took i', tha's how," came a voice from the bushes. Raz emerged, still carrying an immobile Gupta. Manny tensed, and even Ellie seemed slightly worried now. Squint passed the knife to Buck, and sat down beside Taz and Shira, as did Raz, setting Gupta down on the grass. Shira patted her brother on the head, comfortingly.

"Don't worry, Guppy, your leg'll heal soon," she promised. Gupta glared at the use of his 'nickname'.

"Thanks, Shi-Shi," he answered, somewhat smugly. He knew that Shira hated being called 'Shi-Shi' unless it was Raz saying it, but with her and Gupta being the youngest they generally had to suck it up and accept the fact that all of their siblings called them their annoying nicknames.

"Don't call me that!" she complained. Sid looked confused.

"I thought it was Kitty that we weren't supposed to call you?"

"That too!" she snapped. Diego laughed, padded over to her despite Manny's warnings, and cuddled her lovingly. This seemed to reassure Ellie slightly, convincing her to introduce the herd properly to the pirates.

"Hello there," she said, in her typical quirky voice "I guess we all kinda got off on the wrong foot. I'm Ellie, this is my daughter Peaches, my adoptive brothers Crash and Eddie, say hi boys," the two possums waved nervously "Peaches' best friends Meghan and Louis, our old friend Buck, and I think you already know Manny, Sid, Diego and Granny. Obviously introducing you to Shira would be pointless."

She half-heartedly laughed at her attempt at a joke, and picking up on this, Shira giggled too. Diego smirked, and the pirates copied Shira by laughing softly. Ellie then turned to Squint, knowing what needed to be said next.

"Squint. right?" when she recieved a nod, she continued "Can I just say that I am very sorry for that whole squishing-you-into-the-ground thing during the battle on the ship. It was the heat of the moment, I was protecting Shira and, well... at the time you were evil," she explained. Squint just smiled.

"Apology accepted. If I could do that to people, I would too," he began to laugh "And anyway, I did deserve it! I definitely let being First Mate go to my head... I mean, I was about to attack my little sister! So in a way, I'm glad you stopped me. Although, being stepped on by a mammoth was not an experience I'd like to repeat... or remember, for that matter..."

Ellie laughed nervously. "Yeah... I can imagine it was pretty unpleasant."

Suddenly, Raz remembered something from earlier that day:

_"Sid, Manny would blow a fuse," explained Shira "You heard what he said earlier when Peaches offered to go get Raz!"_

She'd meant to ask Shira what she meant by 'when Peaches offered to go get Raz'... so she figured now was an okay time.

"Hey Sheila, wha' was tha' 'bout this mornin? When Peaches offered ta come get meh..."

"Oh, right, I remember that!" exclaimed Peaches before Shira could speak "This morning Shira was, uhm... shall we say, unhappy, so I thought it might cheer her up if her big sister was around!"

Diego grew embarressed all of a sudden, and gripped Shira closer, horrified that he could have upset and hurt her so much, especially after he had missed her for so long. She promised him it was okay, and kissed his cheek. Relaxing instantly, Diego rested his head on hers and turned to Manny.

"See Manny? They're fine now!" insisted Diego "They aren't evil anymore!"

Manny glared at Raz, whom he had the most hostility for. "How do I know Shira didn't talk you into helping them? We all know you'd jump off a cliff into a raging river if she told you to, even though you're terrified of water."

"Okay, one: I'd never tell him to do that. Two: I suppose you think I talked Peaches, Meghan and Louis into 'helping' us too, because they don't have a problem with the pirates either. Actually, they were the ones that convinced me to come back to the herd in the first place. If it wasn't for them, I probably wouldn't have spoken to you guys again."

Worn out from her rant, Shira snuggled into Diego and licked him kindly. But Diego was confused, and pulled away from her.

"Huh? Why wouldn't you come back?" he asked, hurt.

She sighed. "I told you about what I saw-"

"And _I _told _you _the truth of what happened. Now, why else? Because I can tell there's more."

Shira opened her mouth to speak, then shut it again. All eyes were on her. She tried to hide her face in Diego's fur, but he refused to let her. He gripped her shoulders, forcing her to face him. He repeated his question.

"Why else?"

She caved in. "Manny, okay? Manny. I was scared that he'd get really mad at me for being with the pirates again, and for bringing them back here and I was afraid he'd hurt me again."**(once again, Wish Upon a Star reference)** She started to cry fiercely. Diego pulled her close again quickly, stroking the back of her head and soothingly whispering to her. Manny walked closer and draped his trunk around her shoulders.

"Shira, I'd never hurt you on purpose, you know that, right? Everything that happened last time was an accident, I just-" he choked up "I didn't realise you were so afraid I'd hurt you. Okay, why don't the pirates stay in the spare cave?"

Shira looked hopeful. "Really?"

Manny nodded. Shira smiled and thanked him, which allowed Diego to wipe away her tears without more taking their place. While everyone was getting everything organized for the pirates, and Shira had run back to tell Silas, Boris and Flynn, Raz came up to Diego.

"Hey, good job calmin' the lil Sheila down, mate."

He smiled at her. "Name's Diego," he offered his paw "Friend."

Raz shook his paw, smiling back. Peaches hoped, for Shira's sake, that this was the spark to light the fire of the friendship between the herd and the pirates.

**Finally! I hope you guys like this (I've been slaving away at it long enough! Seriously, I had a serious fight with a certain ** called Writer's Block), and I'm so sorry for the wait! Thanks for reading and please review! :D**


	13. Pranks and Rumours

**Hey you guys! *waves at all you loyal readers* I was actually kind of excited to write this chapter, because something funny happens. But first I gotta give some credit to scoobs5601 because she gave me the idea for the first part of Mikayla's plan, and of course for letting Taz be in my story.**

**Enjoy this! I enjoyed writing it! And I've set up a poll on my profile on whether or not I should continue The Girls In The Ice Age, so if you could please tell me your opinion that would be greatly appreciated :)**

Peaches sat on a rock ledge, watching Ethan and the Brat Pack down in the valley below. She'd snuck off during the process of organizing accomidation for the pirates, and no-one had noticed. Or so she thought.

"Hey, Peach."

"Gah!" Peaches leapt up "Man, Auntie Shira, you scared me."

"Sorry," apologised the sabre quickly, joining Peaches on the ledge "So, whatcha watching?"

Peaches giggled. "Oh, nothing..."

"Ethan and his mates?"

"...since when are sabres telepathic?"

Shira laughed, as Peaches sat down again beside her aunt. "Not all sabres are, as you should know from your uncle. Anyway, what's bugging you?"

"It's just... okay, I guess I oughtta tell you all this..." sighed Peaches, before explaining everything that had happened at the Gyro-Drop all those months ago. **(If you don't remember, re-read chapter 1!) **When she was done, Shira gasped.

"T-they, said that? About me?"

"Yes, but they were wrong! You're not a curse, honest!" Peaches assured her frantically, wishing she'd never even told her "I told them that! I told them you weren't bad luck!"

"Thanks, Peaches," she replied, smiling "You're a good kid. Now be a great kid and help me get back at that guy."

"Deal," said Peaches, cracking up at her aunt's determination "Okay so, what're you thinking? Like, a prank or something? Because, if we're going down the prank road, we might be able to get some help from Uncles Crash and Eddie."

"Hmm... prank sounds like a good idea, but-" suddenly, Shira had a great idea "Hey, did you tell Ethan I was gone?"

Peaches nodded. "Yeah, but I haven't told him you're back."

"Perfect," Shira grinned, her eyes twinkling with mischief "Right, now I've gotta go speak to Miss Tasmin." Upon seeing the look of confusion on Peaches' face, Shira added "Taz is short for Tasmin."

And with that, Shira disappeared into the bushes, Peaches right behind her.

* * *

Taz was sitting talking with Louis and Meghan, trying to figure out where Peaches could be, when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned to see an anxious-looking Diego.

"Have you seen Shira?" he asked her. She rolled her eyes.

"Hi to you too," she replied.

"I'm not kidding, have you seen Shira?"

"No, I haven't. Why?" Taz was interested now. Diego sighed.

"She went to get Silas, Boris and Flynn, but after she brought them here she must've wandered off or something, because no-one's seen her since," explained Diego, growing more worried by the second.

"Relax, Softie," came a voice from the trees "I just went for a walk, that's all."

"Shira!" he cried, running over and pinning her playfully "I was really worried!"

She rolled her eyes, and licked his cheek. It was then that Diego spotted Peaches, who smiled awkwardly and waved with her trunk. He blushed, and climbed off Shira, allowing her to stand again.

"Why were you worried? I was gone for like, four minutes!"

"Yeah, but last time you left you were gone for like, four _months_!" Diego pointed out, nuzzling her. Shira sighed; he did have a point. Then she spotted Taz.

"Okay, okay, Softie, point taken, but do you think you can let me out of your sight for about an hour or so?" she asked hopefully "I have something I need to do."

Diego sighed. He didn't want to let her go, in fact he wanted to take her back to the cave and keep her there, where she couldn't get hurt, but he knew arguing was pointless. She was stubborn, and if he took her back to the cave she'd just sneak out anyway. "Alright, but please be careful," he begged. She grinned at him.

"Of course. I wouldn't expect any-"

"And!" Diego interrupted her "I get a kiss before you leave."

She rolled her eyes. "Sure thing, Softie," she replied, before leaning in and pressing her lips against his gently. Satisfied, Diego licked her cheek and walked off. Shira smiled, and ran over to Taz, Peaches close behind.

"Taz!" she exclaimed, grabbing the possum's tail "I need your help!"

"And I need you to get off my tail!" snapped Taz "Oh, hey Peach."

Shira rolled her eyes as Peaches waved. "Remember those two snow wolf cubs you introduced me to the other day?"

"... Rhianne and Herbert?"

"Yeah, that's them," Shira blushed slightly, somewhat embarressed that she'd already forgotten their names "Didn't you have a special whistle to summon them?"

"Uh-huh, that I do," Taz brushed her fringe out of her eyes "Why? Whatcha need?"

Shira smirked evilly. "Revenge."

* * *

A sabre, two mammoths, a possum, a molehog and two snow wolf cubs gathered in a clearing, plotting and planning. They had a brilliant scheme for getting back at Ethan and the Brat Pack, but there was one major thing they needed to do first.

Nearby, there was a field of strange flowers that emitted a harmless, yet startlingly white, powder that clung easily to fur. It let said fur keep it's original colour, it just made it a paler colour, but in a certain sabre's case it made her already silver fur turn pure white, and her black stripes turn grey. After carefully rolling in the flowers, Shira did look seriously ghost-like.

"Alright, let's go scare some mammoths," said Shira, the devilish grin on her face making her even scarier.

"Uhm... Shira? I think you've _already _scared some mammoths," Taz gestured to Meghan and Peaches, both of whom were quite afraid of the sabre. Shira blushed, but it barely showed under the white powder.

"Sorry Peach," she apologised quickly, shaking the stray powder off her coat, so that none of it came off during the act, which would ruin the illusion. For the final touch, Taz drew a long, red line on Shira's side with berry juice, that gave the image of a bloody cut. And with that, the group headed off to the valley where the Brat Pack were hanging out.

* * *

Peaches stormed into the valley, Louis and Meghan flanking her. Louis had Taz beside him, and Shira, Rhianne and Herbert waited in the bushes.

"Ethan!" she snapped, cutting straight to the chase "I need to talk to you!"

Ethan rolled his eyes. "Ah, jeez. What now, Peaches?"

"Remember when Gutt captured Shira? And you guys were _so _happy about it?" Peaches glared at the mammoths as they nodded spitefully "Well, I hope you're happy, because she died on that ship!"

Ethan sighed. "Right, and you know this because..."

"I know this _because_, her ghost has been haunting our flamin' herd!"

After a short moment of silence, the entire Brat Pack burst out laughing.

"Her _ghost_?! C'mon girl, that's the oldest trick in the book!" laughed Steffie, who'd recovered completely from her Gyro-Drop accident.

"Burn!" yelled Drake, to which Meghan rolled her eyes.

"Laugh all you want, but we ain't kiddin'," she stated simply, shrugging. Louis nodded.

"Yeah, she's been tormenting us for weeks, none of us have been able to sleep! Especially poor Taz," Louis squeezed Taz's shoulders.

"I-I came across S-Shira's body a while ago, I think the monkey must've killed her with a sword or something, because she had a long, bloody cut on her stomach. So, I went over, and, and..." Taz trailed off, shuddered, and lowered her head to hide the smirk that threatened to cross her lips. Louis hugged her properly, patting her back and cradling her head.

"Aww, Weiner's got a girlfriend!" came a taunting voice from the crowd. This set off a chain-reaction of stupid comments, making both Taz and Louis blush. Peaches frowned in utter frustration.

"You know, we came here to warn you, but maybe that was a mistake!" she shouted above the noise "Maybe we should've just let you guys be haunted for the rest of your life, which may not be that long! Shira's out for revenge, she told us so! She wants revenge for everything you said about her, and she's not gonna rest until you're all-"

"Dead," finished Shira, emerging from the bushes. The afternoon sun glinted on her powder-coated fur, giving her a strangely spooky edge. All the mammoths were taken aback, surprised that Peaches and her friends had not been lying.

"I-is, a-are you..." stammered Ethan, not knowing what to do or say.

"Save it," hissed Shira, advancing forward, causing the mammoths to back up a bit as they were afraid of the ghostly sabre "You've put my poor neice through a whole lot of rubbish, and expected her to just keep coming back to you, which she did, because she's loyal. And then, because hyou idiots didn't listen to her about the Gyro-Drop, two of your moronic friends got badly injured, which they deserved, and you blame us?! Sheesh, and people say sabres are twisted."

Several mammoths attempted to flee, but one growl from Shira stopped them from doing so. Rhianne and Herbert both prepared to walk out. Neither of them needed any powder on their coats, but they had fake sabre-teeth stuck on with thick honey.

"L-look, S-Shira, I know we've been kinda, mean b-but please, we're, well I, I am, s-s-" Ethan tried to apologise, but Shira cut him off.

"Y'know, while you were celebrating my capture, I was being tortured! And more recently, killed! Murdered! And not just me!" Shira turned to the bushes "Kids!" she called. On cue, Rhianne and Herbert walked out of the bushes, Herbert limping for effect.

"Kids?!" exclaimed all the mammoths, suddenly feeling remorse for the ghost.

"Yes, kids!" she spat, cuddling them "They were killed before they were even born!"

"But Shira, it's not our fault that Gutt took you!" protested Ethan, regaining some confidence. Shira hissed.

"I'm aware. But you did celebrate my disappearance, and you have been horrible to my niece, so I still have reasons for revenge," she pointed out. A moment of silence passed, broken only by Taz's occasional sniffles and Louis's murmurs of comfort.

Just as the teens were about to run away, Shira spoke up again.

"And one more thing," she turned to Peaches, Meghan, Louis and Taz.

"PRANKED YA!" they all yelled. They then began to laugh, and Rhianne and Herbert spat out their fake canines. Taz stopped fake-crying, and high-fived Louis. Peaches and Meghan started giggling, and Shira bowed dramatically.

"Wait, what?" Ethan was the only one able to speak, as the others were either too confused or too afraid.

Shira grinned. "I got back yesterday, the herd saw me this morning, Peaches told me what happened, and I wanted revenge on you. Simple as."

"B-but, Taz was..."

"Acting? Like a boss?" suggested Taz, before high-fiving Louis again, and flicking her fringe out of her eyes.

"But, Shira's kids..."

"Are safe and sound back with their father, thank you," Shira finished for him "These two are some friends of mine and Taz."

"I, I..." Ethan looked enraged all of a sudden "I'm gonna get you for this, Peaches!"

Peaches rolled her eyes. "I have a super-overprotective father, a sabre aunt and uncle, and a crew of pirates looking out for me. I'd like to see you try."

Triumphantly, Peaches led her friends out of the clearing, but not before Shira gave Ethan and the Brat Pack an evil stare and a frightening growl.

* * *

As they were walking home, Shira was ambushed by a frantic Diego.

"Diego what are you doing?!" she struggled to ask, as Diego licked her over and over.

"I was really worried!"

She rolled her eyes. "You're _always_ worried! I'm fine!"

"I know Shira, but one time you might not be fine, and I'll never forgive myself if I cause you any trouble again!" Diego kissed her lips, momentarilly silencing her.

"What do you mean, 'again'? You've never caused me trouble!"

"Yes, I have, if I'd never been so stupid that day you wouldn't have run into the forest and you wouldn't have got captured by Gutt," sighed Diego, nuzzling her gently. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Maybe not, but he still would've come, Diego! And Peaches and Louis would still be there, so they'd probably have been captured instead! And honestly, I'd rather I get captured then-"

"Stop right there," interrupted Diego "You didn't deserve to be caught by Gutt, okay?"

"I didn't say I did, I just said I'm glad it was me, not Peaches and Louis. Okay?"

Diego sighed again. "Okay, okay, I just care about you, alright?"

"I got it," Shira smiled "Now, let me up."

Diego nodded, and stepped to the side, allowing Shira to stand up again. It was then he noticed how white she was, only he didn't know about the powder, so he was confused.

"Shira, why're you so pale? You look like you've seen a ghost," Diego then reconsidered "Actually, you look _like_ a ghost."

Shira grinned. "I know, that was the plan."

Deciding he wasn't going to get anymore explaination, Diego shrugged and nuzzled her. "Okay, should I leave you lot to it?" he asked. Shira shook her head.

"Nah, we're just about done. Right guys?" She turned to Peaches, Louis, Meghan, Taz and the wolf cubs, who all nodded "So, I am now free for you to stalk me."

Diego rolled his eyes. "I'm not gonna stalk you, I just want you to be safe!"

"Fine," sighed Shira "So, what do you want to do?"

"Hmm..." Diego studied her abnormally white coat "Well, let's start with clearing your coat off, because it's actually kinda creepy."

She nodded, and the two walked off together.

"Aww, they are so sweet together!" sighed Taz dreamily. Absentmindedly, she rested her head on Louis's shoulder. Peaches turned to Meghan and gave her that 'I-told-you-so' look, to which Meghan rolled her eyes.

* * *

Diego and Shira arrived at what Diego thought was a shallow pond. Shira stood at the edge, gently dipping her paws in the water, as she couldn't swim and was somewhat afraid of the water. Forgetting this, Diego thought it would be funny if he playfully pushed her in. But the pond was deeper than he thought, and the poor silver sabre couldn't stay above the surface for long. Panicking, Diego jumped in after her, also forgetting that he was scared of water too, and managed to get her to the edge.

"Oh man Shira, are you okay?" he fretted, cradling her in his forelegs. After recovering from her coughing fit, Shira realised that Diego had shoved her in, and she kicked him in the stomach.

"Why'd you push me in?" she demanded, as he rubbed his sore stomach.

"I thought the pond was shallower!" he protested, clinging onto the edge himself. She glared at him, and tried to knock him under too. This turned into sort of a splash-fight between the two, until Diego grabbed Shira's leg and pulled her under again. Seeing this coming, Shira took a big gulp of air beforehand, but still felt very afraid as Diego held her just below the surface.

Suddenly, she came up with a plan. She allowed herself to go limp, and Diego, even though he knew she was faking, still freaked and lifted her out of the water and onto the edge again. Seeing that she was alright, Diego kissed her on the head and squeezed her tight.

"Okay, let's get this coat of yours cleaned up, alright?"

Shira muttered something inaudible, but Diego assumed it was a yes, so he began to clean the powder off her fur. He smiled at her, but she still wasn't happy with him. He nibbled her ear gently, and she started to smile. Then, he tickled her slightly, and she suddenly started laughing uncontrollably.

"Ah yes, you're ticklish, aren't you?" he remembered, smirking.

"Stop it!" she begged, but she wasn't mad anymore.

Unknown to both sabres, Mikayla watched from the bushes, a smirk forming on her face. She ran to the valley where the teens were still hanging out, a devious glint in her eyes.

"Hey Ethan!" she called. The popular - and still quite grumpy - mammoth turned to her, not particulary wanting to speak to another female sabre.

"What?" he asked, not remembering her name.

"Did you hear about Diego and Shira?"

Ethan groaned. "Yeah, yeah, she's back and they have kids, so what?"

"Actually, that's not what I meant," Mikayla grinned evilly "Word is, they're breaking up!"

"They are?!" Steffie's eyes widened "But those two were all lovey-dovey before she got taken by Gutt, why're they breaking up now?"

"Not quite sure, but apparantly it has something to do with the fact that she brought those dumb pirates back with her. He really didn't like it," explained Mikayla "In fact, I even saw him try to drown her earlier!"

"Really?!" all the teens were astonished. Mikayla nodded.

"Yep, but when it didn't work he tried to play it off like it was just a game. Y'know, he told me he wants to break up with her ASAP, he said he had his eye on someone else. Whoever that is," she shrugged, but in her head she was excited. Her plan was working!

"Wow, who would've thought?" muttered Ethan.

"I know," Mikayla fake-sighed "But remember, you guys didn't hear it from me!"

They all nodded, and she walked off, smiling. She quickly darted into the bushes, watching the teens chatter about what she had said.

"Hey Jasmine, Tawni!" Ethan ran over to two gazelle fawns "Did you hear about Diego and Shira?"

Mikayla smirked. _My work here is done._

***Le gasp!* Mikayla's spreading rumours about the sabres! Is this all there is to her plan? You'll find out soon, honest, but I have lots of homework to do. Man, I hate homework.**

**Mikayla: She's not kidding, she's been putting off her Geography project all week.**

**Me: *rolls eyes* Do I need to get Precious?**

**Mikayla: NO! DON'T GET PRECIOUS!**

**Me: Haha, sabre's are so easy... anyway, thanks for reading and please, please review! xD**


	14. The Campfire and The New Cave

**Hello again everyone! I'm updating this ASAP, and I've managed to post this early because I started it after I finished my Thailand Itinary for Geography, and as I was in a celebratory mood I decided to try to update this! :D BTW, I don't own any of the songs used in this, except for the verse of "We Are", which I did actually make up. Not the chorus, the verse. Got that? Kk. :)**

**Taz: I belong to scoobs5601 and I'm from her fanfic Inside A Red Notebook!**

**Me: Which, if I do say so myself, is absolute epicness! Anyway, hope you enjoy! :) Oh, and a special shout-out to aqualina111, for the 100th review of this story!**

* * *

That night, the herd gathered together around a burning campfire lit by Sid. The campfire party organized by Peaches, Meghan and Louis had been postponed because of the sudden increase of herd members, but had been reschedueled for later in the week. That aside, they were still having a campfire, partly because Shira wanted to welcome the pirates to the herd, and partly because Diego inforced everything Shira said now that she was back at last.

Raz and the other pirates had been somewhat hesitant at first, but all their little sister had to do was give them the big, puppy-dog eyes and they melted, instantly agreeing. Taz, on the other hand, was more than willing to be a part of the campfire, even volunteering to tell a scary story or two to frighten the herd a bit. Shira had also insisted that Rhianne and Herbert stay for the campfire too, which, after being cleared with their parents, was fast-approved after Manny and Ellie found out what Shira, the teens and the wolf cubs had done to Ethan and the other mammoths.

"Hey Diego, Shira," Sid greeted the two sabres as they padded into the clearing, side-by-side.

"Hey Sid," they called in unison. Mikayla, who had long since returned, was residing by the fire, warming her paws and pulling faces at the silver tigress whom she hated so much. _Just you wait, Kitty, _she thought, _Just you-OW! _She roared in pain as she put her paws too close to the fire and accidentally put one into the flame. Shira almost failed to hide her smirk, but covered it up before anyone - besides Mikayla - noticed. She glared at Shira, but quickly averted her gaze when Diego looked in her direction, so as to avoid being caught. Shira and Diego lay down beside the fire together, cuddling and purring.

Raz hurried over and placed Kendall, Hope, Ranger, Lightning, Jade, Casper and Tina down beside their mother, whom they began to nurse from eagerly. Shira winced in pain, but thanked Raz for babysitting. Diego nibbled her ear gently, relaxing her, which made Mikayla beyond mad. She wanted Diego to be nibbling _her _ear, to be giving _her _the attention he gave Shira! She wanted him those to be _her _cubs, for him to love _her, _not that sabre with the weirdly-coloured fur and the short canines! In Mikayla's opinion, Shira barely even qualified as a sabre! And she hadn't shown any fighting skills, Diego could easily dunk her underwater, as he had proved that afternoon.

"Hi everyone!" Peaches came in with a smile on her face, and Louis, Taz and Meghan by her side. Normally she would've been carrying Louis - and probably Taz, too - but he had tunnelled over, and Taz had followed him using the same tunnel, for a change in transport.

"Hey Peach-WOAH!" exclaimed Shira, as Buck landed on her head.

"Hey tiger, heard you had cubs and just had to see 'em for myself!" Buck patted her on the head "Welcome home."

She rolled her eyes. "Thanks, now get off my head."

"Alright," he replied with a smile, hopping down from her head and petting the cubs, before running over to join the possums.

"Y'know, he's really awesome, but he's really-" Shira was cut-off by Diego kissing her on the lips. Giggling, she pulled away, but only after a few seconds.

"What?" inquired Diego, trying to kiss her again but being pushed away yet again.

"Jeez Softie, how many times are you going to kiss me today?" taunted Shira, before licking him on the cheek.

"Hey!" Diego said, sounding like a sulking little kid "I haven't seen you in months, I've gotta make up for lost time!"

Shira laughed and rolled her eyes again. "Okay, okay, point taken. Now come here, Softie."

"Stop calling me Softie," mumbled Diego, as Shira pulled him in for another kiss.

"As soon as you stop calling me Kitty," muttered Shira, after they pulled apart. Diego pretended to think it over, before shaking his head and cuddling her close to his chest.

"Nah, no deal. You're my little Kitty, and I guess that means I'm your Softie."

"You read my mind," sighed Shira, cuddling into his chest. Diego raised an eyebrow.

"Sleepy already, are we?" he asked, playing with her ears again.

"No, just comfy. And annoyed, so get off my ears!" Shira started batting at Diego with her paws, but he still continued to mess with her ears, knowing that was one of her pet-hates. "Seriously, off!" protested Shira, trying to pry Diego's paws off her ears. Diego held on, now purposely gripping her ears to irritate her further. She growled at him, but he knew she was kidding around, as she still remained against his chest. If she was really mad, she'd have pulled away from him completely.

"Aw, don't be mad at me, Kitty," Diego fake-whined, before pressing his lips against her cheek. She began to giggle, snuggling into his fur some more.

"Couldn't stay mad at ya if I tried, Softie," she admitted, licking his neck. Their sweet moment was interrupted by Sid's greeting.

"Manny, Ellie, there ya are!"

Diego waved to his old friend Manny and his mate, before returning his attention to his own mate, who was still cuddled against his chest, while he held her protectively. Their cubs lay against Shira's stomach, now tired and weary, as was Shira, but she intended to stay up until the end of the campfire. This doesn't mean she wasn't drifting into sleep every now and then, though.

Now that everyone had arrived, the campfire officially began. They had a general talk, Taz told a couple of scary stories (Crash and Eddie insisted they weren't scared, but, as Taz rightly pointed out, this didn't stop them jumping at every little sound and sitting very close to Ellie for the rest of the night, much to Manny's displeasure, as he couldn't be affectionate to his mate the way Diego was to Shira), and it ended with a traditional karaoke session, as usual, but they didn't sing "We Are" as they assumed the pirates wouldn't know it (actually they did, as Shira had taught them the lyrics, but she didn't point that out).

Instead, they took turns singing any random songs, while putting in suggestions for the group song at the end. Peaches went first, singing a song she made up on the spot, so she would have had no music, but she sang it to the tune of "We Are", just with different lyrics, except for the chorus, which she kept the same because "Something so good can't be changed". It was only short though, because eventually she ran out of ideas because she was slightly nervous singing in front of the pirates.

Peaches cleared her throat and began:

_"We are, we are, __Not your ordinary fam-mily, but we can all agree that, __We are, we are, __Close as close can be!_

_So it don't matter what it looks like it looks perfect to me, __We got every kind of love, I feel so lucky indeed! __They can keep on talking, it don't matter to me, coz, __We are, we are, __Family!_

_Sometimes, when I'm down, I need help from my family, __Because I know I can trust you! __And after all these years, you can all still surprise me! __And tonight, we're all as a group, __All of us, and now the pirates too! __Plus the cubs and Taz, of course! __I hope it'll stay like this!_

_Coz we are, we are, __Family!_

_W_hen she was finished, everyone applauded, proud that someone in their herd was so talented as to come up with something like that right off the bat. Next up was Ellie, who sang a song she'd learned when she was about Peaches' age entitled "I love being here with you," but no-one else in the herd knew it so she only sang a few verses, and she had no music.

She linked her trunk with Manny's, ignoring her brothers' comments, before she began to sing:

_"I love the East, I love the West_  
_And North and South, they're both the best_  
_But I only want go there as a guest_  
_'Cause I love being here with you_

_I love the sea, I love the shore_  
_I love the rocks and what is more_  
_With you there, they'd never be a bore_  
_'Cause I love being here with you_

_Singing in the shower, laughing by the hour_  
_Life is such a breezy game_  
_Love all kinds of weather, long as we're together_  
_I love to hear you say my name_

_I love good wine and fine cuisine_  
_And candle light, I like the scene_  
_But baby if you know what I mean_  
_I love being here with you_  
_I love being here with you_

_I love, I just love, I love being here with you!"_

The herd applauded again, pleased with Ellie's singing talents. But while the others were praising her, Crash and Eddie had more important matters on their hands, well... paws.

"What's a shower?" asked Crash.

"And wine?" added Eddie.

"And 'fine cuisine'?"

"And-"

"I didn't write the song, boys!" sighed Ellie, exasperated "I don't know what all the lyrics mean! Aunt Peggie taught me it, you remember her, right?"

The two possums nodded, now understanding. Shira giggled at the twins' antics, until Diego realised that she hadn't sung yet.

"Hey Shira," he gently leaned away from her, so he could look into her eyes "You wanna sing?"

"No way!" She shook her head. The herd then began to plead Shira to sing, as they hadn't heard for so long, and they figured she might sing something the pirates would know too, so they could join in.

"Aw, c'mon Shira!" Taz tried to persuade her "Ya know ya want to!"

Suddenly, Shira had an idea. "Okay, but if I have to sing, you have to as well, Taz!"

After some egging on from the rest of the herd, and the pirates, Taz agreed to do a song after Shira had sung whatever she would sing. Shira had some trouble deciding what to sing, so she asked the others for suggestions. They all began to shout out random songs, but a lot of them she didn't know, or felt they were inappropriate. Randomly, one of the cubs yawned loudly. This gave Raz an idea.

"Hey Sheila, ya could sing ya lullaby. Ya know, the one ya used ta sing ta me when we were lil'? Tha' migh' put the cubs ta sleep," Raz explained her idea.

Shira's eyes lit up. "Raz, that's a great idea!"

"Lullaby?" asked Diego, raising one eyebrow. Shira blushed.

"Yeah, my Mom used to sing me a lullaby every night before... you know..."

Diego hugged her close, knowing what had happened to her mother **(Gah, another reference to a past story! That one was Dreams, BTW)**. But the fact that Shira was singing a lullaby to the cubs meant that Taz sung first, so as not to wake them up.

"Okay so, this is a song I learned a while back that I've just always liked. I guess I've always thought it was kinda cool..." she shrugged.

Taz grinned at her audience, Louis in particular, and began:

_"Each morning I get up I die a little_  
_Can barely stand on my feet_  
_Take a look in the mirror and cry_  
_Lord what you're doing to me_  
_I have to spend all my years in believing you_  
_But I just can't get no relief Lord_  
_Somebody (somebody) ooh somebody (somebody)_  
_Can anybody find me somebody to love?_

_I work hard everyday of my life_  
_I work till I ache my bones_  
_At the end __I take home my hard earned pay all on my own_  
_I get down (down) on my knees (knees)_  
_And I start to pray __'Til the tears run down from my eyes_  
_Lord somebody (somebody) ooh somebody (please)_  
_Can anybody find me somebody to love?_

_Every day - I try and I try and I try -_  
_But everybody wants to put me down_  
_They say I'm goin' crazy_  
_They say I got a lot of water in my brain_  
_Got no common sense_  
_I got nobody left to believe_  
_Yeah - yeah yeah yeah_  
_Ooh_

_Somebody to love_  
_Find me somebody to love..."_

When she was done, everyone praised her, especially a certain molehog. In fact, when they were all settling down for Shira's song, he even slipped his arm awkwardly around Taz's shoulders, using the old fake-yawn move. Peaches and Meghan grinned at each-other.

"Aww, that's so sweet!" cooed Peaches quietly "That's the oldest trick in the book, but it's sweet!"

"I know!" agreed Meghan in a whisper "I gotta admit Peach, you were right about this one! They're adorable together!"

Shira smiled upon noticing Louis and Taz, pleased that the molehog seemed to have moved on from his crush on Peaches. Shira had nothing against it, she was just happy that now he had a chance at a proper relationship. Not that it was really at that stage yet, but hey, you never know. Smiling, she relaxed into Diego's chest again, enjoying her beloved's embrace, before she sang:

_"Deep in the meadow, under the willow  
A bed of grass, a soft green pillow  
Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes  
And when you awake, the sun will rise._

_Here it's safe, here it's warm  
Here the daisies guard you from harm  
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true  
Here is the place where I love you._

_Deep in the meadow, hidden far away  
A cloak of leaves, A moonbeam ray, Forget your woes and let your troubles lay  
And when again it's morning, they'll wash away._

_Here it's safe, here it's warm  
Here the daisies guard you from every harm  
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true  
Here is the place where I love you._

_Here is the place where I love you."_

By this time the cubs - both sabre and wolf! - were long asleep, as were Crash, Eddie, Sid and Gupta, who was used to falling asleep to the sound of his younger sister singing the familiar lullaby. Diego gently nuzzled Shira.

"You sing a beautiful lullaby, Kitty," he murmured into her silver fur.

"Don't call me Kitty," she tried to sound scary, but it was hard as she was so sleepy, and her relaxing position against Diego's chest meant she was even more tired.

"Okay everyone I think that'll do for tonight, clearly some of us need to go to bed," Manny gestured towards the already sleeping herd memebers, and Shira who was almost asleep. Everyone who was still awake nodded, and headed to their caves. Several people helped Diego and Shira with the cubs, as it was impossible for two sabres to carry seven cubs on their own. Rhianne and Herbert were to sleep with Taz in the pirates' cave, as they had known her for years and felt most comfortable around her. This had been arranged before they fell asleep.

After all the sabre cubs were settled with their father on the big, mossy rock that Shira had missed so much, she padded outside to see if her siblings were enjoying the new home. She was pleasantly surprised to see them all bedding down for the night, Taz lying half-asleep on Rhianne's back as, "Leaves are uncomfortable!"with Herbert cuddled beside them, Raz composing a make-shift bed for Gupta, while Squint (who had the most medical experience) bandaged his snoozing brother's leg as painlessly as possible, Silas arranging various twigs and other items into a temporary nest to sleep in (for he was far too tired to make anything permanent at the moment), Boris just slumbering on the cave floor, and Flynn happily flopping down at the back of the cave.

"Hey guys," whispered Shira softly, so as not to disturb the sleeping wolf cubs "How you likin' the new cave?"

"Oh it's great!" exclaimed Flynn joyfully, only to be shushed by his siblings and Taz.

"Don't wake the kids!" the little possum yell/whispered, while sweeping her fringe out of her eyes, before relaxing again into Rhianne's soft, white fur. Shira chuckled softly.

"Well, I'll see you guys in the morning then, right?"

Squint smiled. "Definitely!" he stated, to which the others nodded.

"Great, goodnight guys!" she waved goodbye, and they all waved back, except Boris, who'd entered the land of dreams shortly after Shira's arrival, and Gupta, who'd been sound asleep since the lullaby.

Diego was waiting for her outside. She rolled her eyes, but kissed him on the cheek, whispering a "I'm just gonna check if the teens are awake, go wait with the cubs," in his ear. He nodded, and walked silently back to their cave. Shira was very surprised to hear arguing coming from the mammoth cave, and was hesitant to enter in case she was walking in on something.

"-but I won't have anywhere else to sleep!" was the first thing Shira properly heard, and it sounded like Mikayla.

"Well you haven't been sleeping in that cave for the past three months, in fact, you haven't even slept here for most of that time! Why do you suddenly need to go in Diego's cave now?" demanded Manny. Shira tensed, but resisted the urge to pounce and kill. For now, at least.

"I just get so, so lonely!" whined Mikayla, probably trying to make herself seem young and vunerable. Manny clearly didn't buy it.

"But don't you think Diego's gonna want some alone time with his mate and kids? I mean, he hasn't seen Shira for months, and today was the first time he's ever seen his seven children," Manny made some valid points.

"Am I interrupting something?" asked Shira, in that I-was-so-not-eavesdropping-just-then voice. Manny shook his head.

"No, what do you want?" he asked, before Ellie thumped him with her trunk "Sorry, I mean-"

"Nah, it's cool. I grew up on a pirate ship, manners don't mean anything to me," Shira assured him. She could've sworn she heard Mikayla mutter something like "Clearly!" but she ignored it and continued "I was just gonna say goodnight to the kids if they're still awake."

"Yeah, we are," came Peaches' voice. She was lying on the floor beside Meghan, both girls still with the flowers in their hair, with Louis lying in a small hole in the ground near her (Louis and Meghan had cleared it with their parents after the prank). Ellie was hanging upside down (her flower still woven into her hair), beside her sleeping brothers, both of whom had leaves stoppering their ears so they couldn't hear the arguement, courtesy of Buck, who was lounging nearby.

"Night Shira," said Louis quietly, which set off various mutterings of similar things that filled the cave. She grinned.

"Night you guys," she replied, before heading out of the cave and returning to her own much-missed one. Diego greeted her with an affectionate nuzzle and a lick on the forehead. She laughed softly, before returning the gestures and lying beside him. The cubs snuggled into her stomach, and Diego lay down against her back, creating a warm and loving place for Shira to sleep.

"So, how'd things go with the kids?" asked Diego, after a moment of complete bliss.

"Pretty good, but Manny and Mikayla were arguing," Shira filled him in "Something about her wanting to sleep in here..."

Diego didn't say anything, he just tightened his grip on Shira and pulled her further into his chest protectively, clearly against anything that could come between him and his silver sabre. Shira giggled, allowing Diego to cuddle and cradle her as much as he wanted. The cubs were well protected against any danger, as their father had no intention to sleep that night, only lay there, watch for danger, and observe his mate and cubs as they slept.

"Y'know Shira, it feels good to be back on this rock," sighed Diego dreamily, but Shira was confused.

"What do you mean?" she asked, unable to look at him because of the position they were in, but it was clear by the tone of her voice that she would if she could.

"I was too... I dunno, sad? Guilty? Worried? I'm not sure, but I couldn't sleep on this rock without you beside me. It just felt... wrong," he confessed, kissing her on the head. Her eyes widened. Diego refused to sleep in his bed without her? She couldn't get past how much he had missed her all those months, he'd been torn apart without her around.

"Diego, c'mon. I'm not _that_ spe-"

"Yes, you are," he interrupted "You're mine, Kitty! And no-one is ever gonna take you away from me ever again!"

Shira sighed. "Goodnight Diego. I love you," she smirked before adding "Softie."

"Love you too," Diego licked her cheek "Kitty."

Shira didn't even bother protesting, she just snuggled into his fur and allowed herself to fall asleep. Diego smiled and watched her for a while, until eventually he too began to feel fatigue from the extremely long and eventful day. Just before he fell asleep, he saw Shira's ear flick in annoyance, which helped him realise the cubs were awake and nursing. Waiting patiently until all seven cubs were asleep again, Diego played happily with Shira's black ears. Once the last child fell back asleep, Diego rested his head on Shira's and allowed himself to doze off, unaware of the prying eyes outside.

Mikayla stood at the entrance of the cave, glaring. She just had to get rid of that Shira, and she knew just how to do it...

**So... what didja think? Honesty's the best policy remember! At least, in this case it is. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this, because knowing me I'll take forever to update this after my roll slows down. And yes, I consider three chapters in under seven days a 'roll'. So, what do you think Mikayla's plan is? Are the pirates gonna stay forever? Is Gupta's leg ever gonna heal? Are Louis and Taz gonna become an item?**

**BTW, just so you know, it's been the same day since Chapter 10, the day just started dead early and it's just ended in this chap. Did you understand that? **

**So, back to my point, thanks for reading and please review :)**

**Oh, and one more thing. Y'know Rhianne? Well, one of my friends has been going through a really tough time in her life, she's just recently lost one of her closest family members and the funeral's this week, so I dedicated a character to her, even though we aren't that close anymore and she doesn't read this anyway, I just feel better for doing so. **


	15. Cat Fights and Fake Bear Attacks

**Hi, I'm trying to update as fast as possible because soon I won't be able to update for a little while, but that's actually not too close I just want to get this done soon. Had this brainstorm in Science (don't worry, I didn't miss out any work, I'd already done more than Miss said.) and I just had to get started! Plus I got my R.E thing done so I'm on a high again. Seriously, I started this within half an hour of posting Chap 14 :)**

**Taz: MusicRocks doesn't own me, scoobs5601 does and I'm originally from Inside A Red Notebook!**

**Me: True dat. Now, onto the chapter!**

* * *

Early the next morning, Tina woke up and saw Mikayla lurking around outside the cave again. She started mewling and batting at her parents to warn them, despite Mikayla's signals to shut up. Shira woke up first, saw Mikayla, and had to resist the urge to attack. Gently, Shira nuzzled Tina, calming her down, before setting all seven cubs against a sleeping Diego.

"Just stay here, sweetie. I'll deal with Mikayla," she whispered into Tina's little black ear. The small cub nodded, and snuggled into her father's fur. Shira kissed her on the head, kissed Diego on the cheek, and nuzzled the other cubs before leaving the cave.

Mikayla blushed, but tried to act as if nothing ever happened. "Shira," she muttered as a greeting. Shira rolled her eyes.

"Mikayla," she replied, wasting no time in cutting to the chase "Why were you hanging around like a stalker outside our cave?"

"I wasn't," she tried to deny, but it was pointless "Okay fine, I was, so what?"

Shira growled. "_So, _you were invading our personal space, creepily watching us sleep, and freaking out my kids! That's out of order, Mikayla!"

"Hush up, you'll wake someone!" hissed Mikayla. Shira growled again.

"I don't care, at least you'll get caught as the obsessed wacko you are!"

Mikayla rolled her eyes. "Listen to yourself, you sound like a teenager! Grow up already!"

"Oh, you're telling _me _to grow up?! Have you seen yourself lately?!"

"And what's that supposed to mean?" snapped Mikayla. This time Shira rolled her eyes.

"It means you're childish, I thought that was fairly clear."

Mikayla hissed. "Look here, Sea-Cat. He's going to be _mine, _ya got that?!"

"Sea-Cat? Was that supposed to be an inuslt?" Shira was almost laughing "I'm a sabre-toothed cat and I grew up at sea, why would I be offended by that?"

Instead of retaliating, Mikayla growled and spat in Shira's face. Her eyes narrowing, Shira tried to lunge at Mikayla, but the normally-stealthy sabre lost her footing over the debris of the fire from last night and fell forward. Mikayla laughed.

"You weak, pathetic Kitty-Cat!" she chuckled. Shira growled.

"Don't. Call me that."

"Kitty-Cat, Kitty-Cat, Kitty-Cat!" chanted Mikayla, like a young cub would. Remembering her own cubs, Shira knew that she couldn't kill Mikayla, as Tina was most likely awake and watching, and if there was a death the other cubs would wake up, and then Diego would wake up and... she shook the thought away. He probably wouldn't believe she'd been stalking them, or doing anything wrong at all, so Shira would get the blame for striking first.

To stop herself from letting her violent nature get out of control, Shira ran out of the clearing, terribly unwanted tears stinging her eyes. Mikayla smirked in triumph, counting the fact that Shira fled as a victory.

"Point Mikayla," she whispered under her breath.

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" came a voice from behind.

"What the-" Mikayla turned around, to see a small, slender possum with a dark fringe that fell over one eye glaring at her "Oh, it's just you."

"Yeah, just me. The fatal and tragically over-looked flaw in your plan," Taz smirked "I'm. Telling. Diego."

Mikayla walked forward, a menacing glint in her eyes and a scowl on her face. "What was that?"

Taz gulped, suddenly realising for the first time just how big Mikayla's teeth were. "I'm. Running. For my life."

Screaming, Taz ran out into the forest too, attempting to follow Shira, but she didn't know where the sabre was. Mikayla smirked again.

"And the score is: Mikayla two, Shira and her dumb 'friends', zero. Just how I like it."

* * *

Meanwhile, somewhere in the forest, a silver sabre ran through the trees, dodging the odd bush or log, occasionally becoming unbalanced, but never falling. She had tears down her cheeks, and a lot of worries and regrets in her head. She regretted leaving so unexpectedly, without even waking Diego, or anyone else for that matter, and she worried that Diego would have a freak attack if he woke up and she was gone. Of course, the cubs were there, so at least he'd know that she wasn't just a dream, that everything he remembered from yesterday really happened.

"Oh Shira, you're so dumb..." she sighed to herself, thinking she was alone.

"I'd argue, but for once you're right," came an all to familiar voice.

"No," she breathed, turning around "No, no, no!"

A figure that Shira had grown far too used to emerged from the trees, the wound on his back unbandaged, leaving it vunerable. Shira took note of this as the monster advanced on her. She expected one of those long villain-hero conversations that resulted in a battle, but instead he leapt forward without a word, stabbing a fish-bone sword into her leg and quickly drawing blood. She winced in pain, but didn't dare cry out in case she was taunted.

He pinned her to the ground, pressing her face into the dirt. Knowing she couldn't breathe right, he stood on the back of her head, forcing her face even further into the earth. She tried to ask something, but he couldn't hear through all the dirt, not that he cared, it was a comfort to know his enemy couldn't protest.

"Oh poor, poor little Kitty," he whispered into her ear "You should've known not to mess with the Master of the Seas."

* * *

Diego awoke with a start, wondering if he'd dreamed up Shira and his cubs. Needless to say, he was relieved to see the seven fluffballs lying beside him, but he wondered where Shira could be. If the cubs were real, then surely Shira had to be too... right? Only one way to find out...

"Sid!" hollered Diego, growing embarressed when he noticed his cubs had awakened. One squirming little figure amongst the others caught Diego's eye as he waited for the smelly sloth. Tina, the smallest of the litter, who was identical to her mother, even down to her eyes, which were the same azure blue. Diego plucked the child up and licked her gently, comforted that if this cub looked so much like Shira, his beatiful Kitty must've returned.

"Hey Diego!" called Sid, running into the cave, before stopping at the entrance and covering his eyes "Oops, can I come in? You guys aren't... you know."

Diego rolled his eyes. "She's not even in here, Sid. Just me and the cubs."

"Oh, okay..." the sloth entered the cave "So, where is she?"

"I was going to ask you that," admitted Diego "You did see her yesterday, right? You remember the campfire and everything?"

"Well, I don't remember anything after the lullaby... I think I dozed off... but I definitely saw her. I remember, I saw you her when she jumped out of the bushes to grab the falling cub. Y'know, you never introduced your kids to the rest of the herd," Sid pointed out. Diego sighed.

"I know, I'll introduce you all to them when Shira gets back. She's probably just off hunting or something."

They couldn't of been more wrong...

* * *

Gutt laughed cruelly as he raked his claws down Shira's side, grinning evilly as he saw her blood stain the grass. He'd already re-opened the long-forgotten wound down her back, and he'd had to re-create some of the cuts and bruises he had given to her the night she allowed the herd to steal his ship. She was in immense pain, but she still tried to fight back, which always resulted in more painful scratches from Gutt's long claws.

"Surrender?" he asked in a sickly-sweet voice. He'd asked her that many times, and she'd always said no, but then she gave up. Shira nodded weakly, before closing her eyes and laying her head down on her paws.

He smirked. "Good. Now Kitty-" she flinched at the use of her wretched nickname "-I want you to listen closely. You are not to tell anybody about this. That miserable excuse of a herd cannot find out I was here."

"H-how could they not find out? I-I'm beaten down and bleeding!" she panted. Gutt gripped her neck.

"Because you are going to tell them that you were attacked by some bears. Right?" he hissed, tightening his grip. Shira couldn't speak properly, because of his hold on her neck, but she did her best.

"Y-yes, Gutt."

"Say it like a pirate," he said, with a warning tone in his voice.

"Aye Aye, Captain," she choked out. He smiled.

"There's a good Kitty," he released her, and patted her head "Now, off you go."

"G-go where?" stammered Shira. She was in no state to move! Where could she go?

Gutt shrugged. "I don't care, but I'm leaving. Have a safe journey, if you can survive the first few steps!"

Shira watched as Gutt swung off into the trees, cackling darkly. She attempted to stand, but struggled. After several attempts, she managed to shakily stand, but she had to wait while she regained her breath before she could even try to move. Painfully, she padded through the trees, before collapsing in the bushes.

"Oh, Diego..." she moaned "Please, please find me!"

**Dang it! Such a short chapter! So sorry, but I can't put anymore in for plot reasons. :(**

**Thanks for reading, please review! XD**


	16. Search Parties and 'Dr Squint'

**Hey! So, I felt really bad for giving you guys such a short chapter last time, so I wrote this directly after. I shouldn't have to say this, as you've probably caught on by now, but Taz belongs to scoobs5601 and she's from Inside A Red Notebook.**

**BTW, I don't know whether you guys have heard of a new-ish band called Everyoung, but I went to their concert earlier today and it was really cool! That was random, but I just had to say that! :P**

**Oh, and I need some new villains, so if you guys give me a name and an animal, I'll make an OC for ya :) But a bit of a bio would help too. Or if you have an OC villain you'd like me to include, then go for it and send me their bio :D**

**Okeyz, onto the story xD**

After half an hour, Diego decided enough was enough. He gathered up the herd, and organized two search parties for Shira. Some members, Squint, Gupta, Crash, Eddie, Buck, Flynn and Boris, stayed behind in case Shira came back on her own. And to watch Rhianne, Herbert and the cubs, of course.

* * *

Raz, with Peaches, Louis, Meghan and Tasmin (who they'd found on the way, and who hadn't told them about Mikayla yet) following, and Silas flying overhead, was hopping through the trees when she heard sobbing. Signalling to the others, she peered around the large tree she was standing behind, and was shocked to see her sabre-toothed sister curled up on the ground, crying into her paws.

"Shira!" she exclaimed, hurrying over and pulling the silver sabre into a hug "Wha 'appened to ya?"

She mumbled something, but Raz didn't catch what it was. At that moment she didn't care, she just wanted to keep her sister safe and healthy. Just then, Peaches noticed Raz was holding a bleeding and shivering Shira.

"Oh my gosh, Auntie Shira, are you okay?!" Peaches was so caught up in seeing her aunt's pain that she didn't realise how loud she was talking, _or _how hard she was squeezing her aunt with her trunk.

"I'll be fine as soon as you stop crushing my lungs!" gasped Shira quietly. Peaches loosened her grip, but still left her trunk around the sabre's shoulder.

"Who did this to you?"

"B-bears," she managed to get out. Raz kept her arms wrapped around the sabre, not really believing her bear story but deciding that it wasn't important at that moment in time, while Peaches rushed to get the rest of their group. Once everyone was done fussing over Shira, Raz lifted her up and carried her limp form back to camp.

"Hey Taz, could ya go find the others an' bring em here?" she asked. Taz nodded.

"Sure thing!" she replied, before running off into the trees. Raz sighed, hoping that Shira wasn't too badly injured...

* * *

Manny, Diego, Mikayla, Ellie and Sid were wandering through the trees, trying to find Shira. Of course, they didn't know she was already back at home, but they were about to find that out. Manny noticed how tense Diego was.

"Look Diego, we'll find her. She probably just went for a morning run or something!"

Diego sighed. "I know, I know, she's probably fine. It's just, when I got her back yesterday... I vowed to myself that I would keep her safe and sound no matter what, and that's already been broken... man, I suck."

Suddenly, Mikayla felt something she'd never felt before: Guilt. It was only a tiny feeling nagging away at her, but it was new to her. She shook her head; it wans't her fault Shira left! Sure, she'd said some mean stuff, but she didn't _tell _Shira to run away crying like an idiot! Or that Taz girl, for that matter! So, why was she feeling this 'guilt'?

* * *

Not far away, up on top of the small hill they'd just walked down, Taz scampered around, trying to find them. She succeeded in spotting them, but while she was jumping up and down in victory, she lost her footing and fell. Luckily, she hooked her tail around a low branch of a tree, causing her to swing in front of Sid's face, startling him.

"Man, I love havin' a tail!" she said with a grin, swinging back and forth a few times before stopping abruptly "Gah, blood rushing to my head, blood rushing to my head!"

Ellie wrapped her trunk around Taz and gently lifted her off the tree branch, allowing the possum to sit on her tusk. Taz thanked her, before remembering why she'd been sent out to find them in the first place. But of course, she had to deal with Manny and his many questions first.

"Taz? Where were you earlier? When did you-"

"Dude, can we play twenty questions later?" interrupted Taz "Coz there's a serious back at the caves!"

"What's the problem?" asked Ellie, before her mate could ask more questions. Taz sighed, not particularly wanting to say the terrible truth, but one look at Diego's desperate, longing face and she knew she had to.

"Raz found Shira, but-"

"Shira? She's safe? She's okay!" Diego gabbled, his eyes lighting up with hope.

"Well..." Taz tried to figure out how to word what she was trying to say "She's safe _now, _but she's not exactly 'okay', as such..."

Before Diego could panic again, Ellie spoke up once more. "Alright, where is she?"

"Raz is taking her back home," answered Taz, before whispering in Ellie's ear "Thanks for stopping the questioning!"

Ellie grinned, and they set off for home, Diego running in the lead.

* * *

Back at the herd's home, a very shocked Squint was ushering Raz (who was still carrying Shira) into the pirates' cave. There weren't any proper beds in there yet, so it was more appropriate for a temporary hospital cave, and anyway Gupta was set-up there to heal, so it made sense to put Shira in that cave.

"Vait, vhat's happening?" asked Gupta, in a very confused manner as Raz went to set Shira on the ground.

"Don't!" exclaimed Squint "Her wounds could get infected. Peaches, Meghan, go get a smooth rock for her to lie on."

The two mammoths rushed out of the cave, returning soon after with a large, shiny rock big enough for Shira, Diego and the cubs to sleep on, as they'd assumed Diego wouldn't leave her side. Between them, they all managed to explain what happened to Buck, Gupta and Squint, or at least what Shira had told them.

"Okay, here's what I think happened," began Buck, as Squint rushed out to get something to clean the rock "Sabre's walking in the forest. Bears attack sabre. Sabre is unable to fight back. Leaving sabre-" he paused for dramatic effect "-a vegetable."

"Buck, vhen exactly did you lose your mind?" asked Gupta, as Raz face-palmed.

"About sixteen years and three months ago. I woke up one morning-"

"Married to an ugly pineapple, we know!" Peaches interrupted him "We're in a serious crisis here! This is no time for stories!"

Buck retired to the back of the cave, grumbling to himself. After Squint had returned and cleaned the rock, Raz placed Shira down and asked Squint what to do next.

"Okay, well we're gonna need-" began Squint, but he was cut off by Diego frantically running into the cave.

"Where is she?" he panted, before seeing his mate lying on the rock, her wounds still untreated and exposed. He gasped, and was about to run over and kiss her, but Squint stopped him.

"Easy there, you might hurt her!" he fretted "Look, if you wanna help, lick her wounds clean while I get something to bandage them with."

Diego nodded, before carefully lying down beside Shira and licking the small scrape on her neck, as it was the first injury he'd spotted. Suddenly, he felt something with a different texture to Shira's fur, and discovered a vine around her neck, attached to a small, leaf pouch that rested against her throat. Deciding it could wait, Diego returned to cleaning his beloved's wounds, occasionally giving her a quick kiss on the cheek when she flinched.

"Don't worry, you're safe now," Diego murmured, leaning close to her ear as he added "Kitty."

Even though she was badly injured, Shira's temper still flared up."Don't. Call me, K-Kitty!" she finally managed to say, before relaxing against his chest and allowing him to lick her cuts. By the time Squint got back, Shira's wounds were long since cleaned, and he wasn't at all surprised to find Diego kissing her gently. Gupta hadn't stopped them, and everyone else had left to get things for Squint or explain everything to the rest of the herd.

"Alright, break it up, break it up!" Squint pushed the two apart "Are all her wounds clean?"

Diego nodded. "Every one."

"Great," replied Squint "Now Shira, so I'm just gonna bandage you up, okay?"

She nodded, and he began to wrap sleek, soft leaves around her wounds, fastening them with vines. Peaches soon got back with a special kind of leaf, one that had a naturally sticky side, for the cuts on her neck and back. Using the knife he'd returned to Buck, Squint scraped some of whatever made the leaf sticky off, leaving that area soft, and stuck it over the scrape on her neck, repeating the action with the slices down her back and sides.

Diego watched worriedly the whole time, repeatedly kissing the top of her head and at one point nibbling her ears. Shira, her pain now mostly gone, smirked.

"Y'know, last time I checked, Gu- I mean, the bears didn't touch my ears!" she teased. Diego, luckily not picking up on her slight mistake, just smiled, and continued to nibble her ear. When Squint was finally done treating her, Boris was sent to get the cubs. He returned shortly after, with seven cubs piled on his back. Squint helped him set them all down beside their mother, where they eagerly nursed.

"I can't wait for these guys to grow out of this!" whined Shira, snuggling into Diego's chest. He chuckled softly.

"Well you've got a while to go, they're still practically newborns!" he laughed, stroking her cheek. She scowled.

"You think it's so funny? You try having seven cubs biting at you with their sharp little teeth!" she complained. He sighed and nuzzled her, wrapping his forelegs around her and lying down, indicating that he wasn't planning on moving.

"Hey Diego," came Squint's voice "I wouldn't get too comfortable, I think Shira could use some proper meat."

Diego nodded, and was out of the cave in a flash. Shira sighed, annoyed that she hadn't had time to protest against him hunting for her. But a small part of her was glad, as she really did need some actual meat, and obviously she wasn't up to the job herself.

When he returned later with a dead gazelle (which, according to Taz, smelled worse than Sid), Shira eagerly ate her fill, but even with her extreme hunger she was polite enough to wait until the others had left the cave, including Gupta, who Raz carried carefully. After a few large bites, she began coughing, as she'd been eating too fast. Diego grinned, and slid the carcass away from her.

"Hang on, you'll choke," he said, nuzzling her until she stopped coughing "Okay, here's a compromise."

He delicately cut off a small slab of meat with one claw, and instructed Shira to open her mouth. She did so, and he carefully placed the chunk of meat between her teeth for her to chew. They repeated this until Shira was full. She wasn't too happy about being fed like a baby, but she did think it was quite sweet of Diego to be so worried about her. Diego quickly ate until he was full too, and after dragging the left-overs a good way from the herd's home, so they wouldn't be disturbed by scavengers, he lay beside her on the rock, calling to the rest of the herd.

Gupta was returned to his bed, his injured leg propped up by a solid yet comfy chunk of moss. Squint confirmed that Gupta's ankle was twisted, and he'd treated it as best he could. He then gave both his patients water in a turtleshell each, but unbeknownst to them, he'd squeezed a small amount of Lotus berry juice into the drink, not enough to paralyze them, just enough to make them fall asleep.

Shira was obviously in pain from the attack, and Gupta's leg was hurting again because Squint had been checking it over, so it was better for both of them if they were unconcious. Diego, on the other hand, was apparantly more paranoid than the herd thought, because when he noticed that Shira was asleep so fast he panicked a little.

Squint rolled his eyes. "Relax Diego, I put some Lotus berry juice in her drink. And Gupta's, of course."

"Wait, you drugged her drink?!" exclaimed Diego in fear.

"Man, 'drugged' sounds so ugly!" muttered Squint "And anyway, it's for her own good! She can't feel her pain this way!"

"Okay, okay," sighed Diego "Thanks for helping her."

"No problem, she's my little sister," he said without thinking "Uhm, I mean, anything for a crewmate! I gotta go, uhm... do something, be back soon bye!"

As he raced out, Raz smiled. "Ignore 'im, 'e doesn't like ta admit we're like a family."

Diego smiled back, knowing the feeling from his early years in the herd. He then returned his attention to his own mate, who was snuggled into his chest. After a short while, the seven cubs fell asleep too, and Diego wrapped his forelegs around Shira's body, gently licking her neck. He didn't fully believe her bear story either, but he didn't care enough to question it. He was just glad she was safe now. If she didn't recover properly from this, he'd... no. He wasn't even going to think about that.

"I love you Kitty," he whispered in her ear, laying his head over hers. The rest of the herd dispersed to take naps, as it had been a very eventful morning, and Diego eventually drifted off to sleep too. Raz, Tasmin and Squint stood in the entrance of the hospital cave, Squint watching over Gupta and Shira in case he'd missed a wound or bandaged something incorrectly. He jumped when he felt Raz's hand on his shoulder.

"Woah, you scared me!"

Raz looked confused. "Wha'? 'ow did Ah scare ya? Ya knew Ah was 'ere!"

"I dunno, you just did," Squint shrugged.

There was an awkward pause before Raz spoke."So, Dr. Squint? Bet ya they didn't see tha' comin'."

"How could they? Even I didn't!" muttered Squint. Tasmin looked curious all of a sudden.

"Hey, Squint?" she asked.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Well, I was just wondering... how _do _you know all this medical stuff?"

Squint sighed. "I, I... it's not important."

Tasmin nodded, knowing when to stop. Raz gently tugged Squint's arm, gesturing for them to leave the cave.

"C'mon, let's leave em in peace fer a bi'."

Squint nodded, following Raz as she hopped out of the cave, Tasmin walking beside him. She knew it was none of her buisness, but Taz couldn't help wondering what secret Squint was keeping from her...

**Alright, and that was Chapter 16! What didja think? What secret is Squint keeping? What is Gutt's plan? Will the others find out? Why is Buck so insane? Okay, no-one can answer that one, but still. Oh, and don't forget, name, animal, and a bio if possible, and I'll make an OC for you, but it'll have to be a villain. **

**In other news (you can skip this if you don't care), we had a surprise netball fixture against another school today, and 'Carly' managed to hit me full-force in the face with the netball within the first ten minutes. Yes, I'm pretty peeved with her right now... and then she was hinting that she wanted a lift home! Grr...**

**Anyways, thanks for reading and please review! xD**


	17. Squint's Secret and Ethan's Apology

**Okay so, believe it or not, I started this the same night I posted Chapter 16, so hope you like! Oh, and I apologise in advance that the emotions kinda run thick in this chapter, I couldn't help it, it was just how it went.**

**You all know who Taz belongs to by now, right? Well it's scoobs5601 if you didn't, and she's from Inside A Red Notebook, blah, blah, blah, you know all this by now. :)**

**I really love this fanfic, but I feel so bad for not updating my others... ah well, at least I'm making one set of fans happy by updating this... right? Remember, I need new OC's, suggestions far more than welcome! I could rewrite all the details, but they're at the start of Chapter 16 so just go back and read that again if you want to have a character in this.**

Squint sat on the edge of a huge rock out in the forest, just thinking, when he heard a sound behind him. He whipped around, but soon discovered it was just Taz.

"Oh, hey Taz..."

"Hi Squint," she replied "Mind if I sit down?"

He shook his head, and patted the space next to him. "Nah, course I don't."

"Sweet," Taz sat down beside him, waited a moment, and sighed "Hey, what's up with you recently? You seem so... distant."

This time Squint sighed. "It's nothing..."

"No, it's not!" replied Taz, starting to lose her temper a little now "Now, what has been bothering you?"

"Okay, okay," Squint held up his paws in defeat "Back when I was a kid my Mom was the healer of our valley. She taught me a bit, but as I joined Gutt's crew when I was pretty young I couldn't learn much. Some years later, we came across a lost rabbit kit. Turns out it was Izabella-" he had to pause before he could carry on "-my little sister. Mom had taught her practically everything about healing, and she taught me. Actually came in handy during our years at sea."

"I can imagine," Taz grinned.

"Yeah... anyway, it was pretty good having her around on the ship, and it gave me a bit of pride that I was the only one with a blood relative on board. Raz and Shira liked her, well, actually everyone liked her, I think even Gutt did a little. Then," he sighed.

"Then..." prompted Taz, motioning for him to continue.

"Then, one day we found another ice ship in the water. It had a mammoth as the captain, and several other animals, including a wolverine and a musk-ox, on board. Their crew was larger than ours, but Gutt assured us it wouldn't matter. We were only about Peaches' age at the time, but we'd been training for years so we knew what to do. Me, Izzy and Raz took on the mammoth, while Shira nearby fought the wolverine. He sratched her, and Izzy ran to help. I told her not to, because it wasn't a fatal wound and Shira would've been fine, but Izzy ignored me and tried to tend to Shira's cut anyway. When she wasn't looking, the mamoth captain snuck up behind her, and he grabbed her with his trunk. Dodging me and Raz, he walked to the edge of the ship and..." Squint trailed off, but Taz knew what he meant: That had been Izzy's final battle.

"Oh, Squint..." she wrapped her arms around him in a friendly hug "You poor thing, I had no idea-"

"Of course you didn't," interrupted Squint "No-one's spoke of her since that day. That was why I hated Manny so much, he reminded me of that mammoth."

Taz chewed her lip. "You don't think he could..."

"No, I'm sure it wasn't Manny," Squint assured her "His fur was a lot darker than Manny's, and he was more... evil-looking, kinda like Gutt."

"Ugh, must've been ugly then," muttered Taz before she could stop herself "I mean, uhm..."

"No, no, it's alright, Gutt never was easy on the eyeballs," Squint smirked slightly.

"You know, I think I used to have a few brothers once..." Taz muttered, stroking her fringe out of her eye. Squint was confused.

"Once?"

Taz sighed. "Yeah, my family abandoned me as a child."

"What? Why?" asked Squint, just as curious as Taz had been about Izabella. She sighed again.

"My parents wanted boys, not a girl. Seriously, I think my grandma actually said when I was born "Oh, it's a girl. Never mind, you can try again", so I guess I was a bit of a disappointment to the family," she shrugged.

"Oh, Taz..." Squint patted her shoulder reassuringly, as hugs weren't exactly his thing "Do you remember anything else about your past?"

"Uhm..." Taz strained to think of something "Oh, well I think I had about five brothers, and I'm fairly sure I was the middle kid. I was sort of an emo child when I was younger, so that combined with my gender pretty much put my parents off me completely. I also had some, erm - anger problems, shall we say, as a kid."

Squint raised an eyebrow. "Anger problems?"

"Yeah, like once this gazelle was teasing me because my hair had gone all poofy like it does when it dries, so I bit the gazelle on the foreleg," admitted Taz sheepishly. Ignoring Squint's shocked expression, she continued "Anyway, one day, I woke up and I thought my parents had left to go get food without me, which they often did, but I guess it was migration season and, well... they moved on. So, from there, I kinda raised myself."

"Really?" Squint gasped "Wow, that msut've been hard!"

"Nah, it's actually not that hard," replied Taz "You just need food, water, and a good place to kip each night. Nothing fancy, just practical. I sorta learned to defend myself too, self defence was kind of my depression and stress vent."

Squint nodded. "That's one of the reasons I liked being a pirate, the raids were a great stress relief, and a good way for me to take out my anger about what happened to Izzy."

He smiled at her, and Taz smiled back. They sat there in silence for a moment, neither sure what to say.

"Hey, should we uhm... head back to camp?" asked Taz, saying the first reasonably un-lame thing she could think of. Squint nodded, so they both got up off the rock and headed back to the herd's home.

* * *

When they got back, Squint insisted on checking on the patients again, and Taz didn't argue, she just went to find Rhianne and Herbert, who's fur she liked to sleep in, because it was warmer and more comfy than leaves. Squint saw that Gupta was okay, and sleeping soundly, so he looked over to Shira, and discovered she was snuggled deep into Diego's chest, with the cubs napping against her stomach.

"Aww, Shira... I'm so glad she found him again..." Squint sighed, he'd heard more than enough stories about Shira's 'long-lost friend' **('Dreams' reference)** back when they were kids, so he was happy that she had been reunited... even though the orange sabre was once an enemy... and, he had to admit, a small part of it was that he'd just about had enough of her talking about him when, by the time she was a teen, she barely remembered his name, so it was just 'my old friend'.

Squint silently exited the cave, smirking at how things had worked out for his little sister. Not long after, Diego stirred, and had a small panic until he realised Shira was still cuddled up close to him. He calmed down, and gently kissed her nose, sighing. _Okay Diego, _he thought, _Just relax, stop freaking out, and quit talking to yourself before you go completely insane._

Unknown to him, Shira had woken up during this, and was just remaining quiet to see what Diego would do. At first he nibbled lightly on her ear, but that soon escalated to him pressing his lips firmly against hers. She giggled, alerting him that she was awake, so he pulled away, very embarrassed. There was a moment of awkward silence, until Jade woke up, whining.

"Shush, sweetie, you don't wanna wake your siblings, do ya?" whispered Shira gently, stroking the young cub. Jade nodded, as if she was saying she _did _want to wake up the others. Shira chuckled softly, which soon became proper laughter when Diego randomly began to tickle her. She batted at his face with one paw, but it didn't get rid of him, just annoyed him a little. Diego finally released her when Ranger and Kendall both woke up from the sound of her laughter, and helped her calm the young children down. Soon enough, Ranger, Kendall and Jade had all fallen back asleep.

"Now c'mon Kitty," Diego teased her "You need your rest, that's why Squint put you to sleep in the first place!"

"Okay, okay..." muttered Shira, tucking her head under his chin and closing her eyes "You nag too much."

"And you get hurt too much," commented Diego "Now, go to sleep. Or else."

"Or else what?" asked Shira with a smirk, opening one eye.

"Uhm..." Diego hadn't actually expected her to ask "I don't know, but I'll come up with something!"

Shira giggled, snuggling into his fur again. Diego watched her fall asleep, gently licking her face, before closing his own ears and pressing his nose into her silver fur, inhaling the familiar, sweet scent of his beloved mingled with the strange smell of the leaves that covered her wounds. He came across that little vine and pouch again, and was tempted to wake her and ask, but didn't. It could wait until she healed.

* * *

Peaches woke up, and instantly looked to see what had disturbed her. Absentmindedly, she noticed that she still had Dahlia flowers in her hair, as did Meghan and Ellie, and she remembered that she'd been wanting to ask her aunt about that, in case she'd seen whoever had brought them. **(Do you guys still rememeber the flowers? Back in Chap 9? Wow, that feels like a lifetime ago!)**. She was surprised to see, at the entrance of the cave, a bouquet of blossoming red roses. Attached with a piece of bark, was her initial 'P', carved out of the skin of an actual peach, so she assumed it was for her. Leading away from the bouquet was a trail of various petals, heading out of the clearing.

Now, Peaches wasn't a dumb kid, she knew it wasn't often wise to venture out of her home following random petals when a member of her family was recently attacked, but she couldn't ignore the fluttery feeling in her heart at the romantic prospect of the petals. Besides, she wasn't going to go _far _from home, if the petals lead too far she'd just go home again. Tip-toeing so as not to wake anyone, Peaches crept out of the clearing, not knowing that Taz was wide awake and stealithly watching. But Taz had no intention of telling anyone, because despite her general rebellious streak in her nature, she'd seen who'd left the petals anyway...

* * *

Smiling, Peaches continued to follow the petals, wondering where they would lead her to, or more importantly, _who_ they would lead her to. Out of anyone she could've guessed, he was certainly near the bottom of her list, as she realised when he called her name.

"Peaches, over here," came a familiar voice. Peaches turned around slowly, and was surprised to see who she saw.

"Ethan?" she asked, suddenly wishing she hadn't come alone "What's going on?"

He took a step closer, but she took a step back. He sighed. "Look, I've been thinking about what you guys said to me and the others yesterday and-"

"Hold it right there!" interrupted Peaches "If this is some dumb lecture that I'll end up falling asleep in could we just cut to the chase? I'm proud of what we did yesterday, you deserved it!"

"Yeah, I did," Ethan's comment threw Peaches completely "I've been a total jerk to you and your family, you should be proud of what you guys did. Honestly, I think it was pretty impressive."

"You do?" asked Peaches, her heart getting that fluttery feeling again "Why?"

"Because like I said, we were all horrible to you, but I was probably the worst," admitted Ethan "And you guys came up with a really original way to tell us that. Y'know, that new aunt of yours isn't half bad, she actually seems kinda cool."

Peaches was blushing, but she didn't know why. "She is, she's great fun. You should meet the cubs, they're really great..." Peaches trailed off, wondering how she could forgive him so fast. She hadn't even consulted the others, was that wrong? She hoped it wasn't.

"Actually Peaches, I'd love to meet the cubs. And Wei- I mean, Louis's new friend... Taz, is it? She seemed pretty awesome, and dang that possum can act!" Ethan grinned "Anyway, I'd like to meet your whole family properly, the way Meghan and Louis have, as a friend. Could we be friends again, Peach?"

"Uhm..." Peaches urged to say 'yes', but she wasn't sure how the others would take it. Trusting her heart, she replied "Yeah, I think we can."

"Thank-you," sighed Ethan "But I've been thinking and thinking about everything that happened in the past, and there's something I gotta say before we start fresh. I'm sorry, for everything."

Now Peaches actually had a reason to blush. "Apology accepted, you sound sincere enough, and if the roses and petals don't say sincere, nothing does!"

"Hey, speaking of flowers, I love the Dahlia's in your hair! I mean, I barely noticed them yesterday because of the whole ghost-prank, but they're seriously pretty!" Ethan stopped before he messed up again, then continued "Where'd you get 'em? They don't look like the type Steffie wears."

"They're not," answered Peaches "But I honestly don't know where they came from. This is gonna sound crazy, but yesterday morning they just appeared in my hair! Meghan has one too, and so does my Mom, it's so strange..."

"Seriously strange," agreed Ethan "So, do you wanna hang out tomorrow? Or, later today, really..."

"I dunno, I might be stuck in family-mode for a couple of days, what with Auntie Shira coming back and all, but I'll see what I can do," promised Peaches, before bidding Ethan goodbye and heading home, following the petals again so she didn't get lost. She really couldn't afford to, one of the family trackers was injured, and the other most likely wouldn't leave her side 'till she was healed.

Luckily, Peaches made it home without any trouble at all, plus she didn't get caught. At least, not by Manny. Let's just say she was somewhat surprised when a weasel with one eye and a possum suddenly appeared hanging in front of her face. The dramatic effect was quickly ruined by Taz, though, when she cried out,

"Dang, blood rushing to my head again!"

Smirking, Peaches lifted the possum off the tree branch, leaving her Uncle Buck casually dangling in mid-air.

"So lass, where were ya at this time in the morning?" asked Buck, swinging a carving of Rudy by the neck in one hand for no apparant reason.

"Oh, I, uhm..." Peaches tried to think of an excuse, but her search turned up empty "I got nothing."

"You weren't, sneaking off, were you?" Buck smirked knowingly; Taz had told him where Peaches had gone so he wouldn't wake Manny.

"And you wouldn't happen to be following flower petals to a certain male mammoth, would you?" added Taz, grinning as Peaches blushed a deep red.

"Yeah, yeah, ya got me," sighed Peaches "How'd ya know?"

"Uhm... girl's intuition?" suggested Taz.

"The unbreakable bond between an uncle and his niece?" offered Buck.

"An amazing sixth sense?" Taz was barely stifling laughter at this point, knowing they obviously weren't anywhere near convincing Peaches "Okay, fine. I saw you sneaking out-"

"And when I woke up and noticed you were gone," Buck continued.

"- I told him what happened so he wouldn't wake your Dad," finished Taz. Peaches smiled.

"Thanks guys," she stroked one of the flowers in her hair "You know, for coverng for me."

"No problem," replied Taz and Buck in unison. The weasel then added "Now go get some sleep, kid, it was a long day yesterday, and you had an early start today."

Peaches nodded, and was about to hang upside down on her branch, before Taz stopped her. "Hey, you might not wanna hang upside down. Y'know, with the Dahlias and everything."

Again, Peaches nodded, before lying down beside a still sleeping Meghan. She fell asleep fast, not thinking to move the petals and roses. Luckily, Taz, Buck and Squint (who hadn't fallen asleep yet because he was busy thinking) did, and by the time the sun properly appeared in the sky, there wasn't a trace of flowers left. They hadn't thrown them away, just stowed them in a hollow tree for the time being.

Bidding goodnight to Taz and Buck, Squint headed back to the other pirates, who were sleeping in Diego and Shira's cave for the moment, just until Shira was healed. He was out like a light, exhausted all of a sudden. Rhianne and Herbert were staying in the mammoth, possum, weasel cave for now, as was Tasmin, so the small possum returned to the cave with Buck.

The weasel clambered up the tree and into his bed of... whatever kind of plant it was, near where the possums hung upside down. Taz, meanwhile, cuddled into the fur of her two favourite snow wolves, letting herself nap peacefully. Buck grinned as he watched Taz fall asleep, rolling his eyes at her, before falling asleep himself.

_Man, I miss Rudy... _he thought, absentmindedly hugging the wooden carving he slept beside, it was the first carving he'd ever done of his favourite dinosaur, and now he was gone, Buck wanted to let his memory live on forever.

**Okay so, I did this as fast as I could, but I had some trouble coming up with a decent story for Izabella, but I already knew Taz's story. BTW, I didn't come up with her past either, scoobs5601 told me about it a while ago through PM, and it took me like half an hour to find it, coz the chat was so long, lols. :)**

**Oh hey, this is so random but I am majorly happy right now because we just started a new topic in Maths and I a)understand it and b) actually enjoy it, haha, there's a first! Anyway, thanks for reading and please review! xD**


	18. Diego's Worries and Mikayla's Alliance

**Now, before I forget, which I did last chapter - grr! - I heard that some people didn't like the way certain characters were portrayed. If you believe that too, please, please tell me, and I'll try and change it in the future. Also, back to my villains thing, seriously a name and an animal and I'll build an OC for you. Seriously, ASAP please! :D**

**Oh, and before I forget this too, Taz belongs to scoobs5601 and she's from Inside A Red Notebook, which is EPIC! :D**

Somehow, the herd managed to mostly wake up at the same time, except for Shira, Peaches, Buck and Taz, who had all been up at some point while the others were asleep. Diego had too, but since he was reunited with Shira he had often woken up wondering if she was okay, and this was no exception. He smiled down at her sleeping form, contemplating whether or not to go out and hunt her down a deer, but decided against it as he couldn't bear to leave her side.

"Diego, my Softie..." she murmured in her sleep, causing a smirk to form on his face, knowing that she wouldn't want him to hear that. _Ah, Shira, _he thought, playfully batting at her ears, _The things you would say if you knew what you just told me!_

Suddenly, her sapphire eyes shot open, allowing her to see his smirking face. "What's so funny?" she asked curiously, raising one eyebrow as he smiled even wider "What?"

He rolled his eyes. "Nothing, let's just say you talk in your sleep."

"Wha-" Shira suddenly remembered what she'd dreamt about, and turned bright red "I, I, uhm..."

"Don't worry, you didn't say anything bad," Diego grinned, before adding "Just trust Diego, your Softie."

Shira blushed even deeper, knowing what she had said during her dream. Sighing, she snuggled into his chest, licking his neck, practically dying of embarrassment. Diego ran his paw down her back in a comforting manner, nibbling contently on her ear, causing her to purr. The two tigers embraced each-other for a moment, until they realised they were being watched.

"Uhm... as cute as it is to vatch your little moment, I feel as if I shouldn't be vatching at all," came Gupta's voice.

"Dude!" snapped Shira "You _shouldn't _be watching!"

"Vell, vhat am I supposed to do? I'm stuck in this bed!" pointed out Gupta. Shira sighed, knowing he was right.

Suddenly, her eyes twinkled again. "Hey, I've got an idea!"

Gupta and Shira looked at each-other for a second, before both yelling out of the cave "GUYS!"

Raz, Silas, Boris and Flynn hurried in, wondering what was wrong, before seeing the way Diego and Shira were positioned and Gupta's awkward expression. Carefully, Raz lifted Gupta out of the bed and took him outside for a moment, while Silas, Boris and Flynn went out to find the badger something to eat for breakfast, while the two sabres returned to gently embracing each-other.

* * *

Rhianne and Herbert were both awake, but neither wanted to move for fear of waking Tasmin, who was still napping in the warmth of their fur. Meghan and Louis were also sitting there awkwardly too, as Peaches was fast asleep and they didn't want to wake her up either. Crash and Eddie, however, didn't think about the consequences of waking Buck, so they woke the weasel as soon as they realised he was still asleep.

"Gah, Rudy, Roger, wha-" Buck sat up, startled, before realising the possums had woken him "Sorry guys, just overslept a bit there."

"No kidding, Crash and Eddie had to wake you up," said Ellie with a smirk "And those guys once slept until late afternoon after a long day like yesterday!"

Crash muttered something, but Taz cut him off.

"Yes, Crash and Eddie woke him up, and then _he _managed to wake _me_ up, thank you!" she mumbled, pushing her fringe out of her eyes only for it to flop forward again.

"Sorry Taz, I was just havin' an intense dream," apologised Buck wearily, quickly slipping his carving of Rudy underneath the leaves he used as a form of duvet before anyone could see it. She grumbled something that could've been "It's okay," or "I don't mind", before closing her eyes and leaning back against the ground, being careful not to lie on the wolf cubs because she knew they wanted to go for a run or something and she would be in their way.

As predicted, as soon as the wolf pups thought Taz was asleep, they carefully padded out of the cave, before running around in circles chasing each-other in the main clearing. Taz rolled her eyes at them, before dropping off to sleep again for real, as she was pretty tired and had hardly slept that night.

* * *

Now alone in the sabre cave, Squint sat up, rubbing his gritty eyes with his fists. He wondered where the others were, but was too tired and weary to find out. Suddenly, he noticed Mikayla's shadow in the entrance.

"Woah! Dude, you really gotta knock before you come in! Or at least wait until people are awake!" Squint waved his arms in the air as he spoke, for emphasis, but it just made him look kinda crazy.

Mikayla rolled her eyes. "Y'know, this is techincally _my _cave too!"

"Oh really?" asked Squint "How did you come to _that _conclusion!"

"This is the _sabre _cave, and I'm a sabre!" Mikayla pointed out "So therefore, this is technically my cave too, so I need not knock before entering."

Squint sighed to himself. "Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer..." he turned back to Mikayla "Okay so, you're saying that Shira would be alright with you being in here?"

"Not the exact words she'd use, but she wouldn't kill me for it," lied Mikayla, knowing Shira would probably wring her neck for being in the cave without permission.

"Yeah, right..." muttered Squint, giving up and flopping backwards into his bed. _If Izzy were here right now she'd_- Squint cut off his train of thought, annoyed. Eveer since he told Taz about his sister, he hadn't been able to get Izabella out of his mind. But, there was a silver lining. That was when he became so tempermental and slightly unstable, when he lost her, but telling Taz about it helped him get over things.

Several minutes later, Peaches, Meghan, Louis and Taz stuck their heads inside the cave.

"Hey guys, we're just off to meet some friends," Peaches informed them, mentally wondering why Mikayla was in her aunt and uncle's cave.

"Hi, why're you up already?" asked Squint curiously, sitting up again. Peaches rolled her eyes.

"Two words: 'Crash' and 'Eddie'," she scowled. Squint grinned.

"The possum twins?" Squint continued as Peaches nodded "Yeah, that sounds about right. Alright, see you later, Peach."

As the mammoth and her friends walked outside, she could hear Diego and Shira arguing.

"-but you don't control my life, Diego!" was the first thing she heard from Shira "And I'm hungry, I have to hunt!"

"I'll hunt for you!" Diego seemed to be trying to reason with her "Just stay here!"

"No!" moaned Shira "I'm injured, but I can still have a life! And I'm not even hurting anymore anyway!"

"Yes you are, you're lying!"

"No I'm not!" there was a short moment of silence, then "Ow! Diego!"

"See, I told you you're still in pain!" gloated Diego.

"Well yeah, the cuts are sore if an annoying male sabre pokes me!" snapped Shira in return. Peaches sighed as she met Louis's eyes. _How come they're fighting? They never fought before..., _thought Peaches, _Wonder what they were fighting about?_

* * *

Diego frowned; he hated arguing with Shira, but she needed to stay still, or her wounds wouldn't heal properly! Trouble was, she was far too stubborn to listen to his reasoning, so he had to raise his voice with her to get her to hear a word he had said. Currently, he had her pinned against the rock, which he didn't actually feel very bad about as the cool rock would soothe the pain in her back.

"Shira please, just listen to me!" he begged, struggling to hold her down "I need to keep you safe!"

"You can keep me safe without completely smothering me!" she complained, trying to push him off "This just isn't fair!"

"What's not fair is how bratty you're acting!" Diego grunted "You don't even realise that I'm doing this for your own good! Please co-operate with me!"

Shira didn't answer, she just growled at him and continued to try and get away, unsuccessfully of course. After a while, Diego did have to admit that Shira was hungry, as he could hear her stomach growling, but he knew he couldn't let go of her in case she bolted. Who was he kidding, he knew the second he got off her she was making a break for it.

"Shira, stop struggling!" he groaned, tightening his grip on her "I don't want to hurt you!"

"You already have!"

She did kinda have him there. "Okay, I don't want to hurt you_ more_. Happy now?"

"No! Let go of me!" Shira tried to get away from him, but he wrestled her down again. Diego couldn't stand to see the pain in Shira's eyes, but he needed to keep her down and inside the cave for her to heal.

"Please, please, please stay still!" he gently licked her nose, but jumped back slightly when Shira tried to bite his tongue "Hey, easy, easy!"

"Diego, what is wrong with you? All I want to do is go hunting with you!"

"I know, but I want you to stay safe here in the cave where it's safe!" He couldn't believe what lengths he had to go to for her well-being "I'm only doing this because I love and care about you!"

"Yeah, yeah, you keep saying that, but if you love me so much then why are you squashing me into the cave floor?" she demanded. Diego, despite how much he hated to do so, held her down and pressed her firmly against the floor of the cave. The two glared and growled at each-other, Shira attempting to break free and Diego forcing her to stay where she was.

"Shira, you're my mate and I love you! Just calm down and listen to me!" Diego pleaded, but Shira didn't bother to pay attention. She was too focused on getting away from Diego to listen to what he had to say. They continued on like this for a while, but eventually Diego decided enough was enough. Ignoring his conscious, Diego gently sat down on top of her, reaching over to grab a vine.

"Hey, unfair!" she protested, trying to push him off "Get offa me!"

"Hold on, I'll get up in a second!" Diego rolled his eyes as he skinned the vine, hoping he wasn't weakening it "Now, don't move."

"I'll move if I want to!" muttered Shira darkly, being as difficult to hold as possible "Wait, what're you doing?"

Diego had finished preparing the vine, and was now wrapping it loosely around her neck. "Cool down, I'm not using it for what you think."

"Then, what are you using it for?" she asked, hoping he wasn't trying to strangle her "Tell me!"

"Okay, okay, sheesh! You'll find out soon!" Diego tied the vine, making sure it loose enough to not hurt her, but tight enough to restrain her. He stood up again, running over to the other end of the cave and tying the other end of the long vine around a blunt stalagmite very tightly. The vine was long enough to ensure that Shira could walk around the cave freely, but she couldn't go past the entrance.

Obviously, when she discovered this she wasn't best impressed. "Hey! What gives you the right to tie me up?"

"You're not tied up completely, just anchored to the rock," Diego attempted to explain "And I'm your mate, I need to protect you! I tried everything else, but you've left me no choice!"

Shira tested out the vine, wandering aimlessly in circles, before seeing how far she could go before the vine stopped her. As she padded up to the entrance of the cave, she noticed the vine becoming tighter around her neck. Diego panicked slightly.

"Woah, watch out! You'll hurt yourself!" he warned her, pulling her close to his chest and away from the mouth of the cave, causing the vine to go reasonably slack again. Although she was mad at him, she didn't pull away, she just sank deeper into his fur.

"Just for the record, I'm still angry with you," murmured Shira, but her point became lost when he licked her head and she purred. She tucked her head into his neck, allowing him to stroke her and check to make sure her wounds hadn't gotten any worse. They hadn't, so he continued to run his paw up and down her back contently, listening to her purr.

"Alright, I'll go hunt us something," he sighed, reluctantly releasing her. She walked to the mouth of the cave with him, but he stopped her before the vine got too tight, promising to bring her a juicy meal in reward for staying put. Bored, she slumped down on the rock, beside her seven cubs, who soon began to nurse. She petted them kindly, trying to ignore their needle-like teeth. She noticed Casper and Tina getting pushed away by the others, most likely accidentally, but Shira still didn't like it. She lifted both the small cubs, and slotted them in beside their siblings, where they seemed happy enough.

After half an hour, Shira was absolutely bored out of her mind. She wondered where Gupta was, then decided Raz and the others had probably taken him out for a walk to ease his mind. Suddenly, her sensitive ears picked something up.

"What the-" she muttered to herself, before seeing Crash and Eddie entering the cave, with a sleepy Buck following.

"Hey Shira!" the possums greeted her in unison, as Buck simply waved. _How do they talk at the same time like that?_, she wondered.

"Hi Crash, Eddie, Buck," she returned the greeting, smiling at Kendall's alertness at the sudden visitors.

"What's with the vine?" asked Buck curiously, indicating to her restraint. She rolled her eyes.

"Diego's overprotectiveness," she answered casually, as Lightning batted at the vine around his mother's neck. She managed to ignore it, until Lightning's sharp little claws dug into her neck. Wincing, she moved him away, unhooking his small claws.

Meanwhile, Crash and Eddie had climbed up onto the rock beside her. "Y'know, this actually kinda suits you," commented Crash, tugging at the vine.

Shira rolled her eyes. "No comment."

On the other side of the cave, Buck was inspecting the stalagmite that Shira's vine was tied around. "Hmm, this vine looks pretty tight, lass, doesn't it hurt?"

"Nah, not unless I go too far over there," Shira shrugged, gesturing to the entrance of the cave.

"Wait, so you can't leave this cave?" Eddie looked confused. Shira nodded.

"Yep, pretty much."

The two possums looked at each-other at the same time, and clearly they both had the same thought: This is the perfect time for a prank. A couple of seconds passed filled with silence, until Crash accidentally-on-purpose hit Shira with his tail. Not long after, Eddie did the same thing, but Shira pretended she didn't notice. Sensing that it was a prank, Buck wondered whether or not to point this out to Shira. He didn't want to be a spoilsport, but he felt sorry for the sabre, who he knew wouldn't be able to fight back.

After the possums had continually hit her with their tails for several minutes, Shira eventually snapped. "Okay, stop hitting me!"

"Make us, sabre!" they taunted, brandishing their tails like weapons. Shira growled, and was about to roar, when Buck jumped over and tried to calm her.

"Easy tiger, no good can come from mauling those two," he gently stroked her head, adding in a whisper "Besides, you'd probably get food poisoning anyway!"

Shira grinned slightly, starting to relax. Crash and Eddie began whispering to each-other. They knew that Shira would roar, and if anyone nearby heard her, they'd be in big trouble, so they needed a way to taunt her without her making any noise. Eventually, they came up with a solution. When Shira had calmed down completely, and was lying with her eyes closed and her head on her paws, they carefully placed several large leaves over her mouth, securing them with vines tied in complicated knots.

After three months on the ship, Shira's claws had begun kinda blunt, so she was unable to cut off the gag. Crash and Eddie then continued to tease the sabre, until she lost her temper and chased the possums. What Crash and Eddie hadn't thought of was what was going to happen when Shira reached the entrance. The vine stiffened, and she was jerked backwards, with a red mark on her neck from the vine.

Buck knelt beside her, rolling his eyes at the possums. "Alright, so this is a learning curve for you. Y'know, let's learn from this, okay?"

Crash and Eddie nodded, but froze when they heard a voice behind them.

"Hey guys, I'm back from my morning walk and-" Manny cut off when he saw Shira lying on the floor, a leaf gag in her mouth and a vine around her neck, attaching her to the stalagmite at the back of the cave. "What did you guys do to her?"

"Diego started it!"

* * *

Diego was just dragging a gazelle back home, when his old friend Manny appeared.

"Oh, hey buddy," Diego blushed, embarrassed about the gazelle "Sorry, I didn't expect to run into anyone..."

"No, no, I don't mind at the moment," Manny shrugged it off "It's just... did you tie Shira to a rock with a vine before you left?"

Diego became even more embarrassed. "Uhm... yeah, I did, but I had a good reason, honest!"

"It's okay, I'm not mad at you or anything!" Manny assured him "I'm sure you did have a good reason! But... well, y'see, Crash and Eddie..."

"What. Did. They. Do?" asked Diego, his eyes almost glowing with his fiery anger. Manny was slightly afraid of the sabre, but continued anyway.

"They, uhm..." he took a deep breath and told the truth "Taunted her then gagged her with leaves so she couldn't roar or shout for anyone."

As soon as Manny had finished his sentence, Diego was off like a shot, somehow still dragging the dead gazelle in his mouth. Manny hoped that he wasn't going to do anything stupid...

* * *

"CRASH! EDDIE!"

The two possums froze in terror, and the devillous smirk they recieved from Shira only made it worse. She'd been un-gagged by Manny, but she didn't feel any need to speak anymore, because she knew her loving mate was back. Only seconds later, Diego rushed into the cave, and he was both relieved to see Shira lying safely on the rock with their cubs, and horrified to see the red mark on her neck.

He dumped the dead gazelle in front of the two possums, scaring them, and was about to give them a piece of his mind, when he was stopped by a certain one-eyed weasel.

"Woah there tiger, no need to murder them!" Buck tried to calm the sabre "I'm sure they didn't mean to hurt her! And anyway, look at 'em, you've scared 'em senseless!"

Buck was right there, Crash and Eddie were scared out of their skins, metaphorically at least. Diego took a few deep breaths, picked up the gazelle in his mouth and carried it over to Shira, who snuggled into his chest. Manny had undone the vine too, but Shira hadn't left yet, which Diego was grateful for. He placed their meal in front of her, gesturing for her to eat her fill.

"Thank-you Diego," she said softly, nuzzling him before taking the first bite of the gazelle. He thanked her with a lick behind the ears, and kept one foreleg around her as he lectured the possums on gagging and provoking a sabre for no reason, afraid to let go in case she ran off. Once she had eaten until she was full, Diego ended his speech and ate his own fill, still cuddling Shira close.

Shira giggled. "Diego, you got gazelle all over me!" she complained, prodding him with one paw. He blushed slightly.

"He he, sorry..." he gently brushed a small bit of gazelle out of his mate's fur "Tell ya what, I'll clean you up as punishment."

Shira raised an eyebrow. "Oh, and that's punishment?"

"No, no, I was kidding!" Diego panicked, licking her cheek to relax her.

"I know Diego, so was I!" she laughed, licking the underside of his throat in return. Diego smiled at her, and carefully began to lick her clean. Crash and Eddie smirked on the sidelines, but were smart enough not to talk, and Buck led them out of the cave speedily anyway. The two sabres continued to lick each-other, all anger forgotten, not realising they were being watched by a certain orange sabretooth who goes by the name of Mikayla. She was hiding in the nearby bushes.

"Unbelievable," she muttered to herself "How can they still be together? How can they have such a big fight and then make up just like that?"

"Yes, unbelievable indeed," came an evil voice from behind her "What's even more unbelievable is how soft that Shira's gotten. Gagged by possums, ugh. I'm actually kind of glad she betrayed us, she would've been an embarrassment to me."

Mikayla turned to see none other than Captain Gutt himself. "Who're you? Shira's old captain?" she asked. He nodded, and she realised something "It wasn't bears that attacked her yesterday, was it?"

"Nope," replied Gutt, an devilish smik on his face "So, whaddaya say-" he held out his hand "Partners?"

"Woah there, dude, I just met you, why would I team up with you so soon?" demanded Mikayla.

"Because we both want the same thing; Shira's destruction," explained Gutt casually "You'll get Diego all to yourself, and that stupid silver sabre will be gone for good. So, what about it?"

Mikayla hesitated a moment, but grabbed Gutt's hand with her paw. "Partners."

**Oh my gawsh! Mikayla's working with Gutt! Betcha didn't see _that_ coming! How will this turn out? Will the herd discover her secret? Why was Diego so over-protective of Shira? Will Squint stop thinking about Izzy? Am I going to stop asking you guys questions that only I know the answer to? And a shout-out to MBSAVfan1, who actually did see the whole Mikayla-and-Gutt thing coming! :)**

**Oh, and I know Diego was kinda rough with Shira, sitting on her and tying her to a stalagmite and all, but it was for her own good, as he explained. **

**Thanks for reading and please review! :D**


	19. Shira's Revenge and Gutt's New Crew

**Alrighty, this chapter may be annoying for anyone who didn't like how over-protective Diego was of Shira last chapter, because he actually gets worse in this one. But as you can guess from the title, Shira gets back at him, lols. :)**

**Taz: I belong to MusicRocks807!**

**Me: She's just kidding. She belongs to scoobs5601, and she's from IARN (Inside A Red Notebook). Oh, and speaking of scoobs5601, she and Blumacaw13 both get shout-out's for the awesome villain ideas they sent in!**

**Okay, onto the story! :D**

"_Sid_!"

"_Shira_!" Sid mimicked the sabre's tone of voice "You know you're not allowed out of the cave!"

"Oh c'mon Sid, I'm not a cub!" whined Shira "Just let me go for a walk!"

"No, Diego told me to keep an eye on you while he had a 'guy talk' with Manny, and he said that under no circumstances were you to leave the cave!"

"Okay so, you're saying that if this cave caught on fire, or was being destroyed by an earthquake, I'd have to stay here?" asked Shira, raising an eyebrow. Sid didn't have an answer to that.

"Just don't leave until I tell you to," he sighed, trying to maintain his dignity.

"Until you tell me to do what?"

"Leave," explained Sid, wondering why Shira didn't get it and falling right into her trap.

"Well okay, if you say so," replied Shira with a shrug, getting up and beginning to walk out of the cave.

"No!" exclaimed Sid, grabbing Shira and pulling her back "You know I wasn't telling you to leave!"

Shira sighed and eventually allowed him to shove her back onto the rock beside her cubs, even though she was extremely happy, she was glad that Sid hadn't tied her up at least. She wasn't best pleased when he sat on her back, obviously thinking he was heavy enough to keep her down.

"Why does everyone want to sit on me today?" muttered Shira. Sid shrugged.

"Y'know, you're actually a pretty comfortable seat."

She didn't say anything in return, she just growled. Not long after, Diego came back, and was somewhat amused to find Sid sat on Shira's back. That aside, he pushed Sid off instantly, cuddling his mate close.

"Hey, Kitty," he greeted her, licking her ears.

"Where were you?" she asked curiously, tucking her head into his neck. Diego chewed his lip, unsure whether to tell her the truth. Well, he knew he couldn't, but he just hated lying to her. So, he told her _part_ of the truth.

"I was talking to Manny."

He wasn't exactly _lying_, just not telling her the full truth. He was talking to Manny, he just didn't tell her why. She cuddled into his chest, accepting that as an answer for now, because she was only asking out of politeness, and anyway she just wanted to be with him. Diego couldn't help feeling bad as she buried her head in his neck, knowing what his plan was.

* * *

Gutt lead Mikayla back to his new hide-out, a cave behind a waterfall.

"So, pretty cool place, huh?" he asked, but it was more of a statement than a question.

"Actually, it's more of a good-guy lair than a bad-guy lair," Mikayla shrugged. Gutt growled, but ignored it because he knew she would be helpful to his plan.

"Difference of opinions. Would a good-guy lair have these guys in it?" Gutt turned to the blackness of the cave and yelled "ARMY! ASSEMBLE!"

A variety of animals, including a group of sabres and a gazelle, confusing Mikayla, as sabres often ate gazelles, advanced to the mouth of the cave. They moved sort of like one, but this was ruined when the gazelle shrieked.

"Eep! Sabre!" she squealed, running away and cowering behind the other animals. One of the sabres rolled their eyes.

"Alex, _we're _sabres!" the small, scrawny tiger pointed out. 'Alex' scowled, and clopped back over to the main group. A female Lynx, presumably Alex's friend, grinned.

"Bit of a fail there, Alex," she said, giving her the 'way-to-make-a-fool-of-yourself' look. Alex mumbled something, but Mikayla didn't hear what it was, nor did she care. Gutt however, did.

"Alexandra! You've completely ruined the image of the fearful crew we are! Can't you see the sabre standing beside me?" Gutt paused to catch his breath, while Mikayla thought, _If she hadn't seen me, why would she have been screaming? Man, this guy's nuts..., _before continuing "She might be joining our group, but what kind of impression are we going to give if we're running around screaming like idiots?!"

"Excuse me, Captain Gutt?" interrupted Mikayla "It's okay, that herd made a worse first impression. At the time, Diego was drowning and Sid was panicking."

She rolled her eyes - how had she become aquainted with such a ridiculous bunch of animals? Gutt attempted a chuckle, but he was too busy thinking about slicing open that pathetic excuse of a sabre he once called First Mate.

"Anyway, you might as well meet the rest of the new crew," sighed the ape, gesturing to the various animals.

* * *

Manny entered the cave, and was somewhat happy and somewhat regretful to see Shira pressed into Diego. He was happy that they were cuddled up close together, but he was regretful because of the plan he had made with Diego.

"Hey Shira, see you've recovered from the vine," Manny greeted the sabre with a smile. She nodded, or at least attempted to, but she had her head against Diego's neck and he was holding her very tight, so she couldn't move much.

"Hey Manny, we ready to go?" asked Diego, gently unwinding his forelegs, as they had been holding Shira close.

"Ready to go where?" Shira lifted her head, eyes wide and alert. Diego kissed her forehead, and smiled down at her.

"Don't worry, me, Manny and Sid are just going out for a guy's day," explained Diego, ruffling her fur. Shira still looked concerned.

"So, am I allowed to go outside, or do I have to stay in here?"

"You're staying in here," said Diego firmly. Shira sighed.

"Okay, am I going to be tied up again, or not?" She hoped he was going to say no, and he did.

"No, you won't be tied up again, we've learned that it doesn't work too well," Diego promised her, tugging lightly on one of her earrings.

"So, you're trusting me to stay here without being restrained?" asked Shira, sounding hopeful. Diego bit his lip.

"Uhm... not exactly..."

Shira suddenly seemed concerned. "What do you mean?"

"Just come over here," Diego offered her his paw, and she hesitantly took it, letting him lead her to wherever he was going. She noticed a faint 'X' on the floor, and suddenly realised what was happening when she saw Manny holding a large wooden structure over her.

"Diego, you wouldn't dare!" she snapped, but Diego must've signalled Manny, because the mammoth dropped the wooden box and the orange sabre jumped out of the way, leaving Shira to be trapped underneath. The box was solid, no gaps, apart from a reasonable sized slot for food, water and just general conversation.

"Sorry Shira, but it's for your own good! Now lie down quietly and don't try and push it over, it's so heavy only a mammoth could lift it!" said Diego smugly.

"So, what's supposed to stop me calling for Ellie to come let me out?" Shira raised one eyebrow, but Diego just smirked.

"Nothing, but Ellie knows we've arranged a special healing facility for you."

"And that special healing facility is a wooden box?" Shira questioned him. Diego didn't answer, he just gathered up the cubs and slipped them through the slot. Shira growled at him, but snuggled her cubs close, allowing them to nurse again, despite her irritation at Diego. Diego tried to talk to her, but she kept ignoring him. Eventually, he gave up.

"Okay, fine, ignore me," he sighed "Look, I'll be back soon, like tonight or something."

Shira's eyes grew wide. "Wait, you're just gonna leave me in a cage all day?"

"I have to! You'll go out if I don't, and you're prone to danger, you will get injured, I just know it!" Diego tried to fight for his point, but instead he got shunned again "Ugh, I officially give up. I'll be back later, love you Kitty."

He waited for a response, but deciding he wasn't going to get one, he left, Manny and Sid following. When they had left, Shira allowed her tears to seep down her cheeks and drip onto the ground.

"I love you too, Softie..." she whispered, licking Kendall, who reminded her so much of her Softie.

* * *

Mikayla surveyed the new crew, wondering what had brought them together, and what importance Gutt could see in them. Suddenly, a ferret pushed to the front of the crew, chewing on a rubbery berry for no particular reason.

"So, what good is she? I mean, she looks like just another sabre," she shrugged, then gestured to the four male sabres behind her "We already got a bunch of 'em."

Gutt rolled his eyes. "Rebecca, you know that Soto and his pack are only working with us for the one job, no more, no less."

'Rebecca' nodded, and chewed on the berry again before speaking. "Whatever, I still think we don't need anymore sabres. 'Sides, Alex'll be screamin' every five minutes."

"No I won't..." mumbled Alex, but she was so quiet only Kenzie could hear her. Mikayla couldn't help wondering how a little ferret could stand up to such a giant ape without fear, and without punishment. She didn't get any answer though, just a cherry bomb **(like Buck used in Ice Age 3) **to the face.

"Hey, what was that for?!" growled Mikayla. Rebecca snarled.

"I asked ya a question, sabretooth!"

Mikayla groaned. "Fine, what did you ask?"

"I asked where didja come from?" snapped Rebecca, biting down hard on the berry out of anger. Mikayla groaned. _Man, this rat is getting on my nerves!_

* * *

_I. Am. Bored., _thought Shira, drumming on the cave floor with her claws, _So, so bored. The nerve of Diego, locking me up in here, treating me like trash, thinking he can trap me in a cage and then say "Love you Kitty!" and I'll just forget about everything! I hate how he just expects me to not get mad at him for tying me up, trapping me in this dumb box, and just being a jerk! I also hate how I'm _not _mad at him, how I want him around still, even after this! And that lame excuse he keeps pulling - "It's all for your health, Shira! It's for your own good, Shira!" Man, it's so annoying! I just wanna-_

The female sabre's thoughts were interrupted by her sister and brothers as they returned.

"Hey, vhat's vith the box?" she heard Gupta ask. She couldn't be bothered to get up and look out of the slot, and anyway she knew her brother's voice.

"Where is our _soeur_?" asked Silas. Shira rolled her eyes, and judging by Raz's tone of voice, the kangaroo was too.

"Seriously, guys? If a random box appears, an' our Sheila's nowhere ta be found, wha do ya think's goin' on?" she waited a few seconds, and apparantly the others didn't catch her drift, because she added "Ah'm pretty sure Shira's _in _the random box, guys."

There was a chorus of "Oh, right.", and Shira didn't need to luck up to know what Raz was doing; rolling her eyes at her siblings and shaking her head slowly, like she always did when the others were being silly. Raz was one of the oldest, so she liked to look out for the younger ones, like Gupta and Shira. Suddenly, she heard a slight tapping on the wall of her wooden prison.

"Sheila? Ya in there?" Raz asked gently. Shira sighed.

"Yeah."

"But, vhy?" came Gupta's voice.

"Diego," she answered, kissing one of her cubs on the head. Gupta's face appeared at the slot, a concerned look on his face. Shira soon realised Raz was holding him up, so that he could see her, which she didn't particularly want, but she wasn't about to complain.

"Come here, Shira," he said softly, motioning her forward. She did as he wanted, walking forward to the slot where her siblings were waiting.

"Hey guys," she mumbled, embarrassed. Gupta playfully tugged on one of his sister's earrings to try and lighten the mood a little.

"Now, since vhen are you the type to stay in a cage?"

"Since Diego and his rank-smelling friend forced me to stay still while the mammoth dropped this stupid box on me," she replied miserably, nuzzling her brother's paw as he played gently with her earrings. "Now off my ears!"

She swatted at Gupta with her paw, but only playfully. Raz carefully slipped her hand into the cage, still struggling to hold Gupta properly, and petted her younger sister on the head.

"Relax Sheila, Ah'll get ya out of there," she said kindly "Jus' hang on a sec."

Shira shook her head. "No, Diego said only a mammoth could move, or lift, it," she explained "You wouldn't be able to get me out. Anyway, Diego said he'd be back tonight, so he'll let me out then."

"Shira, you can't stay in there all day!" protested Boris "What if we _all _tried to move it? Then you'd probably be able to get out!"

The other pirates murmured their agreement, but Shira shook her head.

"Thanks guys, but I don't want to get out, Diego'll only coop me up in some other trap, so what I really need to do is," she paused for effect, an evil grin on her face "Teach him a lesson."

* * *

"Alright," Gutt began introducing the new crew "Obviously you've already met Alex, and that Lynx there is Kenzie. Over there are Dex - the wolverine - and Bronson, the musk ox. The little molehog there is Lauren, and the Mountain Lion cub next to her is Kath."

"Kate..." mumbled the small cub, only to be ignored.

"Kath, Kate, same difference," Gutt dismissed it and continued introducing the crew "Anyway, the leopard is Ashling, and-"

He was interrupted by a Hummingbird chirping "Jasper's on his way!"

Gutt rolled his eyes. "And that Hummingbird is Hollie. Jasper's a shark **(if anyone has a better way to describe those shark-things that Gutt had push the ice floe he was on in Switchback cove please tell me!)**, which is useful because unlike Flynn, Jasper can remember that he is actually a sea creature!"

Mikayla nodded; she'd gotten a fair idea of the pirates' personalities in the few days she'd known them.

"Anyway, this is Rebecca-" he pointed to the ferret "-my old childhood friend whom I have been reuinted with recently. Mikayla smiled.

"That's great news!" she said, but in her head she added, _Finally, something normal about this guy!_

"Now, onto the sabres. This is Soto, Oscar, Lenny and Zeke," he pointed to each sabre as he introduced them "They are only here for this mission, after that they are planning to go their seperate way to us. They also have a bone to pick with Shira."

"Actually," interrupted Soto "Our fight is with Diego. But we figured that killing his beloved mate would be as good a way to torment him as any."

Despite her hatred at Shira, Mikayla was beginning to see just how bloodlust these guys were. She suddenly wondered if she'd made the right choice teaming up with them...

* * *

_That night_

Diego headed into the cave, Manny behind him, and was surprised to see the wooden structure without any visible bodily damage what-so-ever. He knocked lightly on the side of the box, calling his mate's name softly.

"Shira? I'm back," he repeated, but no reply. He sighed "Okay, okay, I deserve the silent treatment. But c'mon, it can't have been _that _bad!"

"Oh really?" snapped Shira, standing up and walking over to the slot, scowling at him "I'd like to see you try it! Ha, you'd never even fit in here anyway!"

Diego suddenly realised she'd called him fat. "Hey, I would so!"

"Prove it," said Shira casually. Diego growled.

"Fine, I will!" he turned to his mammoth friend "Manny, lift up the cage."

Manny hesitated. "Uhm, Diego? I'm not so sure..."

"Just lift up the cage!" Diego interrupted him, angrily. Manny did as he was told, sighing as he did so, knowing it was a bad idea, but not wanting to disagree with his sabre friend. Diego had already had his meal, and he'd left Shira's waiting by the rock, so if this went the way Manny thought at least nobody would starve.

Diego prepared to slip inside, but what he didn't realise was Shira had Kendall, Hope, Ranger, Lightning and Jade on her back, Casper on her head, and Tina in her mouth. As soon as Diego slipped into the cage, Shira quickly exited it, slamming her shoulder into the contraption so Diego was trapped underneath instead.

"Ha, ha, very funny," he muttered sarcastically "Now let me out."

Shira shook her head. "No. You made me stay in there all day, now you have to stay in there all night."

"Wait, you're not seriously gonna-"

"You betcha," she interrupted him, grinning like crazy.

"Manny, let me out!" demanded Diego. Manny shook his head.

"Sorry buddy, but you've been smothering her lately. You need to learn what it's like for her," Manny told him firmly. Diego retreated to the back of the cage, muttering darkly under his breath.

* * *

Mikayla lay on the floor of Gutt's cave, awkwardly observing the crew before her. They were waiting on the arrival of the last member of Gutt's crew, who had gone out for something, and Alex was getting even more nervous by the second, not just because of Mikayla's presence, but also because she was afraid for her friend's safety.

Most of the group had tried to comfort her, but the only one who actually got through to her was Kenzie. Mikayla had figured out that they were very close, and she longed to know the story of why. She couldn't wait to meet the final member, as Kate had confided that she was very nice, but she hoped that whoever it was would show up soon, because it was getting late and she didn't want to stay the night.

"So..." Mikayla tried to strike up a conversation with the shy mountain lion child "Who are you're favourite animals in the crew?"

Kate blushed, unused to being allowed to share her opinion. "Uhm... well, the girl I've been telling you about..."

"The one we're waiting for?" asked Mikayla, and Kate nodded "Okay, so who else?"

"Well... I like Oscar a lot," admitted Kate, embarrassed "He's kinda sweet to me, but he's cruel to most animals, so I don't know whether he really likes me or not..."

"I'm sure he does," Mikayla ruffled the cub's fur. She wasn't generally the kindest of souls, but this poor child brought out her better side "You're a very lovable little girl."

Kate blushed again. "Thank-you, Mikayla... thanks a lot. Y'know, there is someone else I really like on this crew."

"There is? Who?"

"You."

Mikayla could almost feel her heart melting as she looked into the cub's eyes and saw the how serious she was. Just as she was about to thank Kate, Gutt punched the wall.

"Where is that useless, good for nothing..." he trailed off, still fuming. There was an awkward pause, until...

"So, you said earlier that you were glad Shira left?" Mikayla attempted to make conversation. Probably wasn't the best topic to bring up. Gutt scoffed.

"Yes, that stupid sabre was soft, it's much better that she left, and took that dumb crew with her!"

"Yeah, she's such a moron. So are the rest of that crew, as a matter of fact, especially Squint. Y'know, just the other day he-"

"Squint?!" came a voice from outside the cave "Oh my goodness, is he okay? He's still alive?"

"Uhm... yes..." Mikayla raised an eyebrow in confusion, wondering who in the heavens she was talking to "He's on this island..."

The owner of the voice screamed in joy. "He's alive! He's alive! He's alive!" chanted whoever it was.

"Who are you?" she asked firmly.

"Oh, right, sorry," apologised the voice. A rabbit with honey coloured-fur and glittery lime eyes rushed into the cave, flipping her long ears back behind her head. "I'm Izabella."

**WOO, CLIFFHANGER! Izzy's alive! *le gasp!* Y'know, this chapter was going to be a lot longer, but I decided against it as I have to pack my laptop soon. Yes, I said pack. I'm going to Liverpool again this weekend, to see my Gran, so I will have no Wi-Fi :( But I will have a lot of time to work on stories! I have a few one-shot's planned, but I'm not sure how many I'll finish... anyway, wish me luck!**

**Oh, and before I forget, Rebecca belongs to Blumacaw13, and Dex and Bronson belong to scoobs5601. I probably won't put that at the start of every chapter, as I am forgetful, but then again I do that with Taz so it's not too much of a biggie. *shrugs* **

**Thanks for reading and please review! XD**


	20. Taz's New Friend and Diego Understands

**Okay, been working on this at my Gran's house, just got back :) Y'know, I think I have a small problem with the internet… as in I'm far too addicted to using it. Anyone else get that?**

**Alrighty, Taz, Dex and Bronson all belong to scoobs5601, and Rebecca belongs to Blumacaw13, who shall have another character included later in the story… teehee. Man, that was strange.**

**Oh, and ihatethisfanfic (yes, I know you've changed the name now but oh well, just making sure you knew I was talking to you), I did read the review and first, thank-you, and second, I've spoke about you in my review too, and I'm hoping you'll check it out :)**

**Anyway, onto the story! :D**

Mikayla watched Izabella, not knowing what the big deal was, as she'd never learnt Squint's story, and had no idea that the rabbit was supposed to be dead.

"Hi, Izzy," said Kate softly, waving at the bunny with one paw. Izzy made a bigger fuss, running over and hugging the young cub.

"Heya Kate-sie," she cooed, squeezing the giggling little girl "How's my special wickle girl?"

"Good," Kate smiled, then remembered Mikayla "Oh, Mikayla, this is Izzy. Izzy, this is Mikayla."

Izzy gently set Kate back down and walked over to Mikayla, offering her paw. "Hey, I'm Izzy, short for Izabella, not really long for anything."

"Okay, I'm Mikayla, not short for anything, not long for anything either," she shrugged, shaking the rabbit's paw "So, I take it you're the last member of the crew?"

"Say what?" Izzy looked confused.

"Mikayla here is new to our team, and we've been waiting for you to show up again so that she can be introduced to you," explained Kenzie, Alex nodding.

"Oh, right… sorry I was late," Izzy apologised quickly, flicking her long ears off her face once again "It's just that I met the most interesting little possum girl, probably about my age, maybe a little younger, but she was so cool and we were chatting for a bit, then I remembered my job and went to get some stuff, which I have here!"

"Sheesh, don't forget to breathe…" muttered Mikayla under her breath, as Izzy produced some fruit and nuts for the vegetarian members of the crew, and some more berries for Rebecca, who seemed to like chewing on them for no reason.

"So, what was the possum girl's name?" asked Ashling curiously. It was the first time Mikayla had heard the leopard speak, and she had to say Kenzie's voice was a lot gentler, and easier to listen to.

Izzy, meanwhile, froze for a moment, then face-palmed. "Ugh, I knew there was something I forgot to ask her!"

There was slight ripples of laughter from the rest of the crew, and even Gutt had a small smile on his face, remembering the times when his old crew were kids and Izzy would entertain them all for him, despite being years younger than all of them. Of course, she was never a real member of the crew, she just travelled with them for a couple of years, so she wasn't counted as part of his original crew, which he was fine with. She was a part of his new crew, which was a lot better.

* * *

Diego lay on his stomach, head-butting the wall of the cage over and over. He suddenly understood just how bored Shira must've been that day.

"Ugh, I hate when she's right…" he sighed to himself quietly "Then again, she's _always _right. Even when she says I'm soft. I must be, because I actually feel so bad for trapping her in this thing."

"Oh do you now?"

"Shira!" exclaimed Diego "I thought you were asleep!"

"Clearly," she smirked, before mimicking him "_I must be soft, because I actually feel so bad for trapping her in this thing!"_

"Shut up…" he muttered, turning away from the slot. Shira padded over to him, careful not to wake Gupta, in case she started talking to Diego and they said something she wouldn't want her brother to hear.

She whistled ever so softly through the gap, trying to get Diego's attention. She sort of succeeded, but he tried to give her the silent treatment. It didn't work very well though, because she slipped her paw through the slot and stroked his back, as he hadn't walked away from the slot, he'd just looked away.

Against his will, Diego began to purr, feeling incredibly helpless in the cage but enjoying Shira's affectionate gesture nonetheless. He turned back to her, taking her paw in his own and licking it. She giggled, retracting her claws and gently tugging on his tongue.

"Hey, get off!" Diego tried to say, but he couldn't speak properly. Shira smirked.

"Sorry, what did ya say?" she asked all too innocently, still not releasing his tongue.

He tried again. "Let go Shira!" he attempted, but it still didn't sound anything like what he was trying to say. She giggled again, but as much as he loved hearing her laugh, his tongue was starting to hurt a little now. He tried to pull away, but this hurt more. Sensing this, Shira released him, and he gratefully licked her cheek-fur through the slot.

There was a moment of silence before Diego spoke again. "So, when are you going to let me out of this dumb box?"

She sighed. "I do forgive you, Diego, but you know I actually can't move it! Only a mammoth can!"

"Then, go get Manny," suggested Diego, but Shira shook her head.

"It's the middle of the night, not gonna happen."

Diego moaned and returned to hitting his head against the wall again. Shira stopped him, knowing he would hurt himself if he hit too hard. He sighed and tried to nuzzle her, but he couldn't because the slot was too small.

"Y'know," he said "I survived four months without you, and now I can't get through a single night without holding you close."

She sighed too. "I know how you feel, I was on that ship all alone in the cell for months and I was fine, but now I can barely sleep without you here."

The two sabres sighed again and looked into each other's eyes for a moment, Shira getting lost in the emerald and Diego getting lost in the sapphire.

"Just a few hours, 'kay Softie?" she whispered, before padding back to her cubs. Diego watched her depart, his eyes meeting hers for one more longing glance as she lay down beside her children.

"Love you," mouthed Diego.

Shira smiled and mouthed back "Love you too."

* * *

Taz was curled up in a ball between Rhianne and Herbert, dreaming sweetly after her day with Peaches, Meghan and Louis, and surprisingly Ethan, who was being strangely nice to them all. She smiled as she slept, enjoying the dream, which was actually more of a flashback from the day…

_A possum and a rabbit were sitting together in the long grass, laughing and hatting about nothing in particular. The possum, Taz, couldn't shake the feeling that she was missing something obvious about this girl, but she ignored it, just enjoying her conversation._

_Suddenly, the rabbit jumped, licking her paw. "Dang, struck my paw on a rock," she explained._

_"Oh, is it okay?" asked Taz, concerned. The rabbit nodded._

_"Definitely, just a little bruised. Trust me, I know about this sort of stuff."_

_Taz nodded, but this just increased the feeling that she wasn't picking up on something very obvious. The two sat in silence for a bit, making daisy chains for something to do. The rabbit giggled, and put a ring of daisies on her head._

_"Hey, look at me! I'm a princess!" she joked, getting up and curtseying regally. _

_"Pretty good," admitted Taz "But can you beat this?"_

_She slipped her wrists into an '8' shape that she had made, giving the illusion of hand-cuffs "Check it out, I'm a convict!"_

_Both girls fell back in the grass, giggling. They made more daisy chains, but after a while, they got bored of it, and started skimming stones in the nearby pond. They were equal in scores, so they had a tie-breaker on who could get it the farthest in one go._

_"Yes!" cheered Taz, as she got the stone almost to the other side of the pond "I got it all the way down there!"_

_"So?" shrugged her friend "I can get it right to the other side."_

_"Oh yeah? Prove it then," challenged Taz. The rabbit grinned._

_"Sure thing," she replied, picking up a stone. She ran to the other side of the pond, and dropped it in the water "Ta-da!"_

_"Hey, that's cheating!" laughed Taz. The rabbit shook her head._

_"No it isn't, I said I could _get _it down there, not that I could _throw _it down there!" she pointed out, very matter-of-factly. They both laughed and chatted for a bit longer, until it started to get dark._

_"Shoot, I probably oughtta get back," sighed Taz. Suddenly, the rabbit froze._

_"Dang it, I was supposed to get food!" she remembered, slapping her own forehead "Idiot, idiot, idiot!"_

_"You're not an idiot!" Taz tried to assure her, but she wasn't listening._

_"Sorry, I gotta go. Hopefully I'll see ya around!" she gabbled, before leaping up and dashing off._

_"Wait!" Taz called after her "I didn't even get your name…"_

Sighing, Taz sat up, just wishing she knew her new friend's name, or where she lived, so that she could meet up with her again. She'd wandered off for a bit, until she'd accidentally bumped into the rabbit, they'd got to talking, and she discovered that she liked the rabbit a lot. Unfortunately, Taz was fairly certain she'd never ever see her friend again. Little did she know, they were going to be meeting up sooner than she thought…

* * *

Glancing outside the cave, Mikayla noticed just how late it was. Cursing, she thumped the floor with one paw.

"Careful, you'll hurt yourself," Izzy warned her "Trust me; I know a lot about healing and medical stuff."

"No offense," said Mikayla "But I don't plan on trusting anyone who's wearing a crown of flowers."

"Whaddaya mea-" Izzy reached up and noticed she was still wearing the flower crown she had made with Taz "Oh, right. Forgot I had that on."

"Did you make that with your new possum friend?" asked Gutt, having a good idea who this possum might be.

Nodding cautiously, Izzy said "Yeah, I did. She's really nice; I just wish I knew what her name was, or at least where the heck she lives. For all I know, she could live on the other side of the island or something!"

Gutt rolled his eyes, as Rebecca turned to Mikayla. "So, why'd ya punch the ground?"

"Coz it's late, the herd's gonna wonder where I am," Mikayla explained, not knowing that nobody in the herd had noticed her absence "Plus it's dangerous to travel alone at night."

"Well, stay here for the night then!" piped up Alex happily, a kind smile on her face. Mikayla looked to Gutt, knowing he was in charge.

"That okay with you?" she asked, and he nodded. Gratefully, she curled up by the entrance, getting comfy, until she remembered something "Oh, hey Izzy?"

The rabbit looked up. "Yeah, what's up?"

"Just wondering, why'd you get so excited when I brought up Squint?"

"Oh, right," Izzy blushed, remembering her embarrassing little celebration "He's my brother."

"Your brother?!" exclaimed Mikayla, and the rest of the crew, as they hadn't known either. Gutt did, but luckily for him Izzy didn't recognise him, so she didn't ever ask what happened to the crew.

"Yup," Izzy nodded, slinging her ears back casually, as if it was no big deal to shock everyone in the room with her.

There was a moment of silence, as no-one knew what to say, until little Kate spoke.

"Is your brother Squint nice?" she whispered gently. Izzy smiled.

"I've always remembered him as nice," she said "But Mikayla might know better than I do what he's like now."

She sounded hopeful, hinting at Mikayla to tell more about Squint. But just as she was about to, Gutt interrupted.

"Okay, okay, that's enough for tonight. Mikayla was right, it's late, and we need to get some rest."

Kate seemed disappointed, as did Izzy, but both were smart enough to keep quiet about it. The little mountain lion lay down somewhat awkwardly beside Mikayla, but feeling remorse for the poor cub, the sabre pulled Kate close to her chest.

"What's with the long face?" she asked gently, tickling Kate under the chin "C'mon, turn that frown upside down!"

Kate giggled quietly, but she still sulked. "I don't wanna go to bed, I'm not tired yet!" she whined, before promptly yawning loudly.

"Sure you're not," chuckled Izzy, ruffling the cub's ears for a minute. She sat down beside Kate, which meant that she was quite close to Mikayla "You mind?"

"No, it's fine," promised Mikayla, gently curving her paw around Izzy protectively, allowing the rabbit to lie beside Kate.

"Thanks," muttered Izzy tiredly, dropping slowly off to sleep. Mikayla smiled, enjoying the company of such sweet little animals. As much as she hated that silver sabre, she had to admit the cubs were adorable, but she wasn't able to cuddle them, no matter how much she wanted to, as she was enemies with their mother.

Drifting to sleep herself, Mikayla smiled again, glad that there was some very kind animals on this new crew. Who knows, maybe she might even like things better than she thought she would on Gutt's team.

* * *

Smirking, Diego picked at the wood with his claws, which were sharper than Shira's. He'd found a weak point in the wooden structure, so he figured he might be able to get out earlier than planned. He was correct, and soon he could just squeeze out of the cage.

Resisting the urge to pounce on Shira and kiss her, Diego padded softly over to the rock where his beloved mate and cubs slept, careful not to wake them, or Gupta, who was dozing soundly not too far away.

Shira was crying, thrashing and panting in her sleep, occasionally moaning "Get away from me!" or "Don't kill me!" as she was deep into her nightmare. Noticing this, Diego climbed onto the rock and lay beside her, calmingly holding her close. After a short while, she stopped panting, and stopped crying, instead awarding him a gentle lick to the cheek. Diego wondered if she was awake, but decided she wasn't, as her eyes were closed and her breathing was steady and deep.

"Oh, Shira…" he sighed, stroking her back "Why do you always have nightmares?"

"I don't know," she murmured softly, startling him, as he'd been certain she was sound asleep.

"Okay… do you wanna tell me about it?"

"Actually, I'd prefer if you told me how you got out of that wretched cage."

Diego grinned. "I found a weak point in the wood and cut through it."

"Man, I'm so thick…"

"No you are not!" he said firmly "Now, tell me about this nightmare!"

"It was nothing…" lied Shira, but Diego knew she was keeping something from him.

"You were saying 'Get away from me!' and 'Don't kill me!' in your sleep. It was not nothing."

Shira sighed. "Okay, okay… I dreamt Gutt was trying to kill me and the cubs…" Shira knew that Diego had no idea Gutt was still alive, but it's perfectly normal to dream about someone who's dead… right?

"Oh, my poor little Kitty… tormented by her own imagination…" Diego kept his forelegs wrapped tightly around Shira, who was fighting the urge to tell him that it wasn't her imagination, Gutt was still alive.

"I love you Diego…" she purred. He smiled down at her.

"I love you too," he paused for a moment, then added "Kitty."

"Don't call me Kitty…" she murmured, as she fell asleep. Diego smirked at her, nibbling playfully on her ear again. Even in sleep, she frowned and batted at his face. He chuckled, realising just how hard it had been without her that night.

**So, thoughts? Did you like? Did you hate? Oh, and before I forget, thank-you to everybody who informed me that the shark-things that I couldn't name are called narwhals :) I'd go back and change that, but I can't be bothered. *shrugs***

**Thank you so, so much for reading and please review! Or I'll make sure Izzy never meets the herd!**

**Izzy: Hey! **

**Me: I'm kidding, if I did that I'd ruin the plot. Duh! *rolls eyes***

**Izzy:… shut it….**

**Me: Anyway, I'll try to update soon xD **


	21. Gutt's Got A Plan and Herd Meets Cubs

**Alrighty, please enjoy! Even though I think it's kinda short… oh well. You know that Taz, Dex and Bronson belong to scoobs5601, and Rebecca belongs to Blumacaw13, don't you? So I don't need to say it, even though I just did… dang it.**

**Izzy: Ha, you failed.**

**Me: Watch it, bunny rabbit. Y'know, I wouldn't even mind, but three out of four of them aren't even in this chapter... *sigh* Anyway, enjoy! And treasure a fast update, they don't typically happen often with my work... including schoolwork...**

Crash and Eddie sat on the cave floor in front of their sister, who was lecturing them on taking advantage of animals who can't fight back.

"Y'know, maybe teasing Shira yesterday wasn't the best idea…" whispered Eddie.

"Gee, ya think?" hissed Crash "Now shut it before Ellie hears!"

Buck sat on one of Ellie's tusks, casually sharpening his tooth knife with a pointed rock. He wasn't taking sides, so he felt it was easier to just stay out of things all together.

"-the poor sabre has just got off of that crazy ape's ship, and I can't believe you two were cruel enough to prank her less than a week after her return!" Ellie paused for breath, and suddenly realised how loud she'd been talking. It was only morning, and her daughter and Taz had both woken up during her speech.

"Hey, what's going on?" yawned Peaches. She was hanging upside down again, as Louis and Meghan had both gone home the previous night, but she'd had Taz secure the flowers into her hair beforehand, despite the fact that they weren't as fresh and pretty as they were at first.

"Sorry Peaches, Taz," sighed Ellie "I forgot how early it was. I was just telling my brothers that it's impolite to taunt sabres that can't fight back."

"Woah, woah, back it up a second," Taz sat up, interested all of a sudden "Now, how did they taunt said sabre, and why couldn't they fight back?"

"Yeah, and who was it?" agreed Peaches, just as eager as her possum friend. Ellie rolled her eyes.

"C'mon now guys, it's not important who was taunted or how. What's important is-"

"Diego tied Shira up and she couldn't go outside the cave, so we were making fun of her," explained Eddie, unaware of his sister's death glare in his direction. Crash was though, so he took a slow step away from his twin. Taz giggled softly, stroking her fringe back off her face.

"Possums…" muttered Peaches, rolling her eyes and smiling. Taz glared at her. "Oh, uhm, I-I didn't mean…"

"It's fine, I get it. You meant those two," Taz grinned "But I think what you meant to say was _male _possums."

Both teens sniggered, as did Ellie and even Buck, but Crash and Eddie seemed highly offended. "HEY!"

* * *

Mikayla woke up beside Kate and Izzy in the cave, momentarily forgetting where she was and wondering why such a vulnerable cub and a herbivore would be sleeping so close to her. She smirked when she remembered, gently patting Kate on the head.

"She's a cute little one, isn't she?"

Ears pricked, Mikayla searched for the source of the voice. She soon discovered it was a member of Soto's pack, Oscar. The somewhat normal one, in Mikayla's opinion.

"Excuse me?"

"Kate. She's a cute little cub."

"Oh, right. Yeah…" Mikayla trailed off, unable to think of anything else to say to the sabretooth. Apparently, he couldn't think of anything to say to her either, because he lay his head back down on his paws and seemed to fall asleep.

Knowing he was faking, Mikayla refused to let her guard down, until she heard soft snores from his direction. Satisfied that he was sleeping, she lay down properly and allowed her thoughts to wander.

"Mikayla," a voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Gutt?" she murmured, lifting her head again.

"Yes, I've been thinking, and I know of a way that you can get rid of Shira and possibly get Diego to love you," lied Gutt. He had a plan, but he knew that it would make Diego hate Mikayla more than he already did. Mikayla's eyes lit up with hope.

"You do? Well, what is it?"

"Shush!" hissed Gutt "Lower your voice, you don't want to wake the others!"

Mikayla nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Miss Mikayla, we are pirates. We say 'Aye Aye, Captain'."

"Oh, right. Sorry. Aye Aye, Captain!"

Gutt smiled. "Better. Now, about this plan…"

* * *

Raz hopped into the cave, pausing at the entrance in case Diego and Shira were, uhm… you know. They weren't, as they were both asleep, but Gupta was wide awake, playing long-distance peek-a-boo with Casper.

"Aww, tha's really cute, Guppy," she mocked him, with a smirk on her face.

"Vhy do you always call me Guppy, yet you respect that our sister doesn't like being called Shi-Shi?" demanded Gupta, but his tone was playful. Raz shrugged.

"Coz Sheila is deadlier an' scarier than ya," she offered, earning a scowl from her brother "Aw c'mon, i' ain't like Ah came in 'ere ta make fun o' ya!"

"Vell, then vhy did you come in here?" asked Gupta, pausing the game of peek-a-boo.

"Ta see if ya wanna come out fer a walk with me an' the others."

"Ooh, that sounds like fun," Gupta paused "Except I can't valk."

Raz rolled her eyes. "Ah'm aware of tha', as Ah've been carryin' ya around! Either me or Boris'll carry ya."

Gupta shrugged. "Sounds good to me."

"Alrigh', then," replied Raz, gently picking her brother up.

"Hang on, did Squint say this vas alright?" asked Gupta hurriedly. Raz sighed,

"Since when is Squint the ruler of us, eh?" when she saw Gupta's worried expression, she added "Yeah, 'e did, Guppy, ya shouldn't worry so much about wha he says."

"Vell, I get vorried that he vill get mad at us!" Gupta defended himself.

"Oh yeah, what's more terrifying than the Easter Bunny?" Shira spoke up, rolling her eyes "Just go, if Squint gets mad I'll cover for you."

"Thanks, Shira!" said Gupta gratefully, as Raz gave her the thumbs up. The kangaroo exited the cave, holding the badger in a way that his leg was still straight. Shira shook her head at her siblings as they checked to make sure Squint wasn't watching, before running off into the forest.

"They're crazy, aren't they?" sighed Diego, alerting Shira that he was awake.

She nodded. "Absolutely. Imagine how I feel, I grew up with that."

"Well, that does explain how you are now," shrugged Diego. Shira's eyes grew wide, as she'd taken him seriously.

"Really?"

"No, I was kidding!" he assured her, kissing her cheek "I love you just the way you are."

"That's good…" she smiled up at him "Hey, you know what we still haven't done?"

"What?"

"Introduced the herd to our seven little cuties."

Diego gasped when he realised she was right. How could he have been so stupid as to forget to introduce his children to his own herd?!

"You're right. Wanna go introduce them now?"

Shira shrugged. "Sure, why not? Could you wake the others for me?"

Diego nodded. "Course I can. EVERYBODY WAKE UP!" he shouted. Shira rolled her eyes.

"You could've been more gentle and calm," Shira informed him. He licked her nose.

"Yeah, but where's the fun in that?" he asked, as several members of the herd entered the cave.

"What's the problem?" Manny sounded concerned. Diego grinned.

"No problem, just thought you guys might want to be formally introduced to mine and Shira's little cubs."

This instantly perked Sid – and everybody else, even Granny – up. They surged forward, surrounding the rock where the two sabres lay. The seven fluffballs pressed against Shira's stomach squeaked in fright, unused to so many animals being so close at once.

"Don't worry," she whispered to them "You're safe. This is just the rest of the herd, they won't hurt you."

The cubs calmed down, understanding their mother's words. Diego gently ruffled Shira's ears, before gesturing for the herd to back up a little bit. They did so, and Diego carefully plucked his oldest cub away from his siblings for a moment.

"Okay, this is the oldest cub, we named him-"

"Diego, we're introducing the cubs, not auctioning them off!" Shira pointed out, rolling her eyes "You don't need to be so formal, you're among friends!"

"Alright, alright…" he muttered, trying again "This is Kendall, the oldest boy. Any better, Shira?"

"Much," replied Shira, taking Kendall away from Diego and handing Hope to her mate. Diego carefully held his daughter, showing her off to the herd.

"This is the second oldest, Hope," as he spoke, she batted at his face, as if to say "Dude, I deserve a better introduction than that!" Diego laughed softly "And as you can see, she's certainly a little princess."

Shira cradled Hope to her chest, after passing Ranger up to Diego.

"Here's Ranger, the third oldest, and the most independent by far!" Diego chuckled as Ranger batted at him with one paw "He's also, for reasons unknown, taken a dislike to his Uncle Squint."

This earned chuckles and giggles from the entire herd, much to Diego's pleasure. Ranger needed no comforting cuddle, and Lightning was eager enough as he jumped into his father's paws, ready to be displayed.

"You should be able to guess this cub's name just by looking at him," Diego shrugged, but seeing Sid's confused expression, added "Lightning."

"Oh…" sighed Sid, which got him a hit on the head from Manny's trunk. Lightning laughed softly, as did the rest of the cubs, who were lying peacefully beside their mother. Diego rolled his eyes, before returning Lightning to his mother and gently lifting Jade.

"This is Jade, named after her sparkling eyes," said Diego proudly, licking his child on the head. She smirked at him, batting at his tongue. Diego sighed and muttered "Just like your mother."

"Thank goodness," said Shira with a grin, hugging Jade close, before carefully giving Casper to Diego. The small cub shook with fear, disliking being away from his mother. He was very reliant on his mother's cuddling, and without her, he was very afraid. Until of course he realised that the large paws holding him where those of his father.

"And this little guy is Casper, but no loud sounds, he gets scared quiet easily," Diego warned the herd, who conceded without question. Except Granny.

"Aww, well ain't he a cutie? Precious! Come see the little kitten! Precious!"

Casper squeaked in fright, causing Diego to pull him close and snuggle him, to no avail. "Shira!" he said immediately, passing the frightened child to his mother, whose presence visibly calmed him.

"Anyway, the final cub is little Tina," Diego held the cub up to show the herd. There was a chorus of "Aww!" and "They're all so cute!" from the rest of the herd, but Diego had to give Tina back to her mother fast because Casper was whimpering, wondering where his sister was. As they were both so small, the two were quite close, born within minutes of each-other.

Taz was the first one to run over to the little cubs, fast followed by Sid. The possum cuddled Tina and Casper, while Sid tried to hug just about all of the others. Ranger wasn't having the mushy cuddles, and hit Sid in the face with his paws. Ignoring this, Sid attempted to pick up the rest, much to Shira's displeasure. She snatched her cubs away from Sid, except for Lightning,who didn't seem to mind being cuddled by the sloth.

Buck ventured over to the giggling cubs, and was soon pounced on by Jade, who seemed to have taken a liking to the one-eyed weasel.

"Woah, easy there lil' tiger!" chuckled Buck, ruffling Jade's fur "Don't wanna smother me, now do ya?"

"Actually, she probably does. She's kinda... crazy," explained Shira.

"Perfect for Uncle Buck then!" joked Peaches, as she watched her mother play with Hope. The herd continued to snuggle the cubs, with the exception of Ranger - who had pounced on Crash and Eddie instead of hugging them, to which Shira had no protest - but the rest of the young kids were more than happy to be cuddled by the herd.

After an hour or two, Shira sent Diego out to hunt down some food, which he wasn't too happy about, as he wanted to stay beside Shira in case she got injured again, but he knew he had to get food for his mate and cubs. While he was searching for some deer or something, he ran into Mikayla, who had not long left Gutt's new home.

"Diego! H-Hi!" stammered Mikayla. _Man, I gotta get outta here!, _she thought in a panic.

_But you did tell Gutt that you'd put the plan into action the next time you saw Diego._

_I didn't think the next time would be so SOON!_

_Doesn't matter, you don't want Gutt thinking you're untrustworthy!_

_I know but-_

_But nothing! You are doing this!_

_...fine... I can't believe I just got deafeated by my own mind._

"Mikayla!" Diego's voice snapped her out of her thoughts "You okay?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah... fine," she lied, taking a deep breath "Hey, how's Shema?"

"You mean Shira?" corrected Diego, slightly irritated.

"Oh, right, yeah. Her," Mikayla couldn't quite keep the venom out of her tone completely "How is she after the coyote thing?"

"They were bears." Even though Diego didn't believe his love's story about the attack, he still thought Mikayla ought to

"Oh, yeah, I knew that."

"Sure you did..." muttered Diego "Anyway, she's okay. Still hurt, getting better though."

Diego didn't want to give Mikayla any details, she seemed to be acting suspicious... even more so than usual. He made up his mind to get out of there as soon as possible, get the deer, antelope, whatever he decided on, and get back to Shira.

"Oh, so she doesn't need any help anymore? She's all fixed?" asked Mikayla hopefully. _Or at least back to the way she was before the attack, _she added in her head.

"No, she's not fixed, just healing," Diego rolled his eyes "Like I said."

"Meh, same difference," Mikayla shrugged. Diego looked confused.

"Same difference? How can you have a _same _difference?! Something's the same, _or _it's different!"

"No, I mean..." Mikayla tried to think how to explain it "It's like, if you had say an antelope, and another antelope, they're different antelopes, right?"

"Well yeah, but they're still the same thing!"

"No, there's the same amount of difference between them."

"There's NO difference between them! They're the same thing!" protested Diego.

"Okay, that's like saying that because me and Shira are the same species, we're the same thing," Mikayla attempted to make it clearer for him.

"No, it's not."

"Yeah it is!"

"It's not!"

"Alright, so how is there no difference between the two antelopes?" she asked. Diego chewed his lip, then continued.

"B-because, there, there are, uhm... there just isn't any difference! And anyway, it even sounds wrong when you're saying it: Same difference. They're two completely different words! 'Same' and 'Difference' are opposites! They can't exist together in a description!"

"Yes they can! It means there is the same amount of difference between two things!"

"But 'healing' and 'fixed' are entirely different concepts!" insisted Diego. Mikayla rolled her eyes at him.

"Yes, but they mean practically the same thing. There is the same amount of difference!"

"But if there's difference, then they're not the same, are they?" pointed out Diego. Mikayla cursed under her breath; she hated losing in an arguement, but she couldn't think of a counterpoint.

"Whatever, this arguement is seriously pointless anyway," she decided now was a good time to put her plan - well, Gutt's plan actually - into action. "So, about Shira..."

"Mikayla, I've not got time for another random debate, I need to go hunting!" interrupted Diego. Mikayla sighed and rolled her eyes.

"It's not a random debate, it's a serious question!" she told him.

"Okay, what?" he said bluntly.

"Well, you know how much you love your little cubs..."

"Yes?" Diego sounded wary.

"Uhm... how would you... like, some more?" she finally got it out. Diego shrugged.

"I'd be cool with it, but it would probably be putting to much strain on Shira, what with the bears and all... plus our seven cuties are still pretty young, so not anytime soon..." Diego mused, oblivious to Mikayla's intention.

"Not with her, silly!" cooed Mikayla, advancing on him. She nuzzled his shoulder lovingly.

"Then what do you-" Diego suddenly caught on: Mikayla wanted to have cubs with him.

"So... whaddaya say?" she asked softly, licking his cheek.

**What will Diego say?**

**Izzy: Well, he says-**

**Me: Dude, rhetorical question! BTW, wanna know an interesting fact about the 'Same Difference Debate'? That actually happened between two people who work at the local Fish and Chips shop, lol! Anyway, I wanna apologise in advance for next chapter, because something happens, but you guys know me, almost everything gets resolved in my stories. Just bear with it for a short while and don't like, stop reading or anything... please. Alright, thanks for reading and please review :)**

**Kate: Hey, didn't you have something you wanted to say to, uhm... can't remember the name, but it was about OC's.**

**Me: Oh yeah, thanks Kate :) Guest and *ahem* Kaaaaren? If you guys want OC's in the story, just ask me and I'll be happy to include them, but I can't guarentee a big part for them, because of the plot and all, but I will include them if you want. I'll just need their bio :)**


	22. Break-Ups and The First Word

**K'so, the title kinda says it all here. *shrugs* But anyway, here it is. The chapter you guys will most likely hate me forever for. But don't worry; there are no deaths or anything. Taz, Dex and Bronson belong to scoobs5601, Rebecca belongs to Blumacaw13, you guys probably know the drill by now.*shrugs***

**Alright, before I start the actual chapter, I ask you all to bear with what happens during this short-ish chapter. Oh, and thank you to money 100 for giving me the idea of Mikayla wanting cubs with Diego, because I needed a certain couple's break up to happen anyway and money 100 gave me a reason.**

Diego looked deep into Mikayla's eyes. He took a slow step forward and... roughly shoved her away from him.

"Why would I have cubs with you? I already have a mate!" he snapped.

"Well, lots of males have more than one female! In a pack it raises your popularity!" persuaded Mikayla. Diego rolled his eyes.

"Do I look like I'm in a pack to you?! No! I'm a _herd_! And in a herd having more than one female doesn't make you popular, it makes you an insensitive, moronic, untrustworthy jerk!" he informed her. _This is not going well..., _she thought, _Gutt's gonna kill me! Okay, okay, get back on track, Mikayla._

"Who cares what that herd thinks?" she asked, but she didn't mean it, now she knew she had gone way too far. If she hadn't seen what that monkey had done to Shira, she probably would've refused the plan in the first place, and refused his invitation to join his new crew. But she knew now that she had to try her hardest to convince Diego, or she'd get a bone sword through the neck.

Diego's angry look hardened further. "Who cares? Who cares?! _I _care, Mikayla! I care a lot!"

"Sheesh, no need to get moody..." muttered Mikayla under her breath. But Diego's sensitive ears still picked it up.

"Oh, well excuse me if caring about what my family think of me is considered moody nowadays!" his glare softened for a moment "Mikayla, you were my friend. I thought you'd changed, that you'd given up this constant, stupid flirting. Obviously, I was wrong, because as soon as my mate comes back into the picture, boom, you're Miss Obsessive again!"

Although he didn't know it, his words stung deeper than expected, bringing sharp, stinging tears to Mikayla's eyes. As he didn't expect this, his own fury was postponed for the moment to deal with the suddenly crying sabre.

"Woah, woah, I didn't mean to make you cry!" his eyes widened in worry "A-Are you okay?"

"N-No, I-I'm not..." she scrubbed at her eyes with one paw, claws retracted "I..."

"What's wrong? This seems like more than just what I said," Diego said tentatively. Mikayla couldn't answer, partly because it would ruin Gutt's plan, and partly because she was crying too hard to properly speak. Sighing, Diego checked over his shoulder to make sure no-one was around, and pulled Mikayla close for a hug.

"Shush, shush..." he whispered, rubbing her back "It's okay, it's okay, it'll all be okay..."

"N-No it won't!" she choked out "You don't understand!"

"Then explain it to me," he suggested, but she shook her head.

"I can't!" she wailed, releasing more tears.

"Why not?" he asked softly.

"Because- I, I just can't!" she sobbed uncontrollably into his chest, giving the not-so-remorseless assassain quite a shock; Mikayla had never struck him as the crying type. The two sabres sat there for a while, Mikayla allowing her tears to soak into Diego's neck, too upset to enjoy the embrace, while a small hummingbird watched from the trees.

"Man, the Captain ain't gonna like this..." muttered Hollie, before taking to the sky again.

* * *

Shira chewed her lip in concern. Diego was taking longer than usual, and she was worried that Gu- the bears, might've gotten him. Most of the cubs had fallen asleep, often being cuddled by a member of the herd. Tina fell asleep hugging Taz, who was now trapped between the sabre's paws, as did Casper with Louis, but the molehog could get away if he wanted, he just didn't. Lightning napped in Sid's arms, while Ranger lay indepently beside his mother on the rock, Crash and Eddie sitting nearby, watching over him. Squint, on the other hand, made sure to stay as far away from the cub as possible. Jade was being rocked to sleep by Buck, Ellie's trunk wrapped around her like a blanket. Hope was being hugged by Rhianne and Herbert, who were also napping soundly.

Kendall, though, was wide awake, sat on his mother's head, apparantly not sleepy. Shira scooped the young cub into her paws, pressing him to her chest.

"C'mon, Kenny, go to sleep," she whispered softly, but the cub shook his head. She sighed. "Do I have to sing to you?" she asked, to which he nodded "Ugh, okay then-"

"Wait," interrupted Squint "Iill get Raz to bring Gupta up so he can hear. Raz, could you-" he noticed the kangaroo's absense, then looked and saw that Gupta was gone too. "Raz..." he hissed, before running out of the cave shouting "I'm gonna get that marsupial miscreant!"

"Strange... I always thought Raz was a kangaroo, not a miscreant," commented Flynn. Shira didn't bother face-palming, she was used to Flynn's stupidity, and anyway, she'd lost count of how many times she'd effectively slapped herself in the face when she was a child and still getting used to her brother's ways.

Rolling her eyes, Shira began to sing her lullaby:

_Deep in the meadow, under the willow _  
_A bed of grass, a soft green pillow _  
_Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes _  
_And when again they open, the sun will rise. _

_Here it's safe, here it's warm _  
_Here the daisies guard you from every harm _  
_Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true _  
_Here is the place where I love you. _

Yawning, Crash and Eddie curled up beside Ranger, who batted at them in his sleep, and slowly joined the cubs in the land of dreams.

_Deep in the meadow, hidden far away _  
_A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray _  
_Forget your woes and let your troubles lay _  
_And when again it's morning, they'll wash away. _

Drifting asleep, Sid fell backwards, still holding Lightning. Forunately, Manny caught the sloth before he hit the floor, and Peaches picked up Lightning in her trunk, where he continued to sleep soundly.

_Here it's safe, here it's warm _  
_Here the daisies guard you from every harm _  
_Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true _  
_Here is the place where I love you. _

_Here is the place where I love you._

Finally, Kendall fell asleep too, snuggled soundly against his mother's chest. This proved a problem, as she was intending to search for Diego after all the children where asleep. As if reading her thoughts, Manny gently plucked Kendall from Shira's grasp and cuddled him in his furry trunk, to which Shira was very grateful. The silver sabre raced out of the cave, searching for Diego.

* * *

Now that Mikayla's sobs had finally subsided to small sniffs, Diego released her and got up to leave. Mikayla was about to head back to the herd, ready to forget all about Gutt's stupid plan, until she saw a familiar hummingbird circling in the sky. Sighing, she cleared her throat to talk, but only after shooting the bird a death glare.

"Uhm, Diego?"

"Yeah?" he asked, looking over his shoulder, worried in case she might start crying again.

"I was just wondering, about the cubs thing..."

Diego groaned, face-palmed, and pounced at Mikayla, pinning her against a tree, his face inches from hers. "Mikayla, you know I don't love you. You know I don't want to have cubs with you."

Unknown to Diego, Shira had emerged from the bushes behind him and heard part of what he was saying, but only the 'want to have cubs with you part'. _He's probably just telling her he _doesn't _want to... right?_

"Mikayla, you know perfectly well after all these months that I truly love-" but Diego never got to finish his sentence, as Shira interrupted him, fury boiling over at what she thought she was seeing.

"Diego!" she roared "How could you?"

"N-no, Shira, it isn't what it looks like!" exclaimed Diego, but Shira didn't believe him for one second.

"Right, of course it isn't!" she said, her voice thick with sarcasm and deep betrayal "Of course you weren't halfway through telling her how much you love her!"

"Shira, listen to me, I was going to say I love _you_!"

"Yeah, to Mikayla!" snapped Shira, struggling to keep her tears inside, and not getting the fact that the 'you' was her "I knew it! I knew you moved on and forgot all about me! I knew it the moment I saw you two kissing the other day!" **(again, back in Chap 9, in case you forgot)**

"Please, please..." Diego's own eyes brimmed with tears "C-C'mon, K-Kitty I-"

"Don't call me Kitty," hissed Shira, but this time she sounded like she really meant it "Ever."

"Okay, okay, I'll never call you Kitty again!" promised Diego "But I'm still gonna think of you as my one and only Kitty, because you _are_!"

_"_No. I am not," Shira told him firmly "I'm not your Kitty, I'm not your sweetie, I'm not your anything, because I'm not YOURS, Diego! Not anymore. Not after this."

The poor male tiger had no words. Unknowingly, Shira had just shattered his heart and scattered the pieces over the entire world. He watched her turn and walk away, knowing she may never come back to him.

"S-Shira..." he whispered, a single tear rolling down his cheek "I need you..."

* * *

Shira raced through the forest, tears streaming from her azure eyes. Suddenly, she slammed into a blurry purple shape.

"Wha the- Sheila! Wha' in the world d'ya think you're doin'? Runnin' round like tha'?" demanded Raz, who would've folded her arms had she not been holding Gupta "Ya migh' get 'urt! An' Diego'll freak if 'e finds out!"

At the mere mention of his name, Shira collapsed in loud sobs, unable to contain the awful sounds one makes when crying anymore. Slowly, Raz sat beside her sabre sister, setting Gupta down so that he could pet the tearful tiger too, before wrapping her arms firmly around the poor girl, letting her get out all her tears.

"Vhat is the matter, Shira?" asked Gupta softly, stroking the sabre's head. "Please vill you tell us?"

"I-I-I..." unable to speak from her tears, Shira buried her head in Raz's fur.

"C'mon Sheila, try an' tell us," Raz encouraged her, gently pulling away from the sabre to look into her glossy eyes.

"D-Diego and M-Mikayla..." she managed, but her siblings knew what she meant.

"Do you vant to go somevhere else for a vhile? Away from the herd?"

Shira nodded, so Raz released the sabre and set her down beside Gupta.

"Righ', Ah'll go get the cubs an' the others. Gupta, stay here with lil' Sheila," ordered Raz, and Gupta nodded, holding Shira's paw comfortingly. Quickly, Raz hopped back to the herd's cave.

* * *

Manny looked up as he saw Raz hop into the cave. Wordlessly, she lifted Kendall from Manny's trunk, and Ranger from his spot on the rock beside Crash and Eddie, and slotted them both into her pouch. She snatched Lightning from Peaches, Hope from the wolf cubs, and Jade from Buck and Ellie, nefore slipping the three into her pouch also. Taz and Louis were both alert, and were holding Tina and Casper close. Raz had almost no trouble grabbing Casper from Louis, but Taz didn't want to let go of Tina until she knew what was going on.

"C'mon Taz, Ah don't 'ave time ta explain!" sighed Raz, exasperated.

"At least tell me why we need to move the cubs," said Taz firmly. Raz face-palmed.

"Coz they need ta be with their Mum more than their Dad!"

Taz looked confused, but agreed to let Raz take Tina after a lot of persuassion. Raz clicked her fingers.

"Silas, Flynn, Boris," she said, but it was more of an order. The three pirates appeared at her side, and they casually walked out of the cave. The rest of the herd tried to get the attention of the pirates, but Raz made sure they all ignored them. As they were leaving the clearing, Diego ran in frantically, Mikayla nowhere to be seen.

"Guys, have you seen Shira?!" he panted, eyes wide with hope. Raz just blanked him, so the others did too. Diego grew even more frantic. "C'mon, there was a big misunderstanding and-"

"Shuddup already!" interrupted Raz "Ya made our lil' sista cry, we've got nothin' ta say ta ya."

And with that, the pirates hurried into the bushes, Diego too shocked to follow.

* * *

_Two hours later_

Shira lay in a random cave, surrounded by her pirate siblings and young cubs. All but Kendall were asleep again, but the small cub had a concerned look in his emerald eyes. Shira sighed.

"You're a very smart little guy, aren't ya?" she ruffled her eldest son's fur. Kendall continued with a typical cub's small moans and gentle mews, until he managed to mumble something out.

"D-Dada..." Kendall looked up at his mother's shocked expression. The rest of the pirates were just as awestruck, unable to grasp that the cub had spoke. "Daddy!" repeated Kendall, with more confidence.

While the pirates were having miniature celebration, and Flynn and Silas were trying to coax more cubs into speaking for the first time, Shira sighed and pulled Kendall close to her.

"I know, Kendall... I want him too..." she sighed into his tawny fur.

**Man, I just depressed myself writing this chapter. ^_^ Mikayla has a lot to answer for! Just wait till I- EEP! *ducks as someone throws a vase* I'm sorry!**

**Izzy: *wiping away tears* Dude, why break 'em up?**

**Me: They have to for plot reasons! And why do you care, you haven't even met them yet!**

**Izzy&Taz: *sniffles***

**Me: Oh c'mon, you don't have to wait _that _long for them to make up!**

**Taz: Wait, so they get back together?**

**Me: Well duh! You know I'm too big of a Dira fan to split them up forever! Please review, if you don't hate me too much for this...**


	23. Standing Up and Singing Out

**Okay, have you guys forgiven me now? I sure hope so... anyway, enjoy this new chapter. BTW, just got a Facebook page, please like! If you have Facebook of course, and anyway, the profile image is the same as my avatar on here, and the name hasn't changed either. :)**

**Taz: Me, Dex and Bronson all belong to scoobs5601, but the other two were too lazy to show up. *shrugs***

**Rebecca: I belong to Blumacaw13!**

**Oh and I don't know if any of you guys know about BBC Radio 2's 500 words competition where you have to write a short story in 500 words (hence the title) but my story got through to the next stage! :D Thanks to Tiny Tina, who I human-ised as the main character, lol.**

**Tina: *smiles cutely***

**Me: Anyway, I'll quit droning on about my life and let you guys enjoy the story :)**

Mikayla marched into the cave, eyes narrowed, ears flat against her head. She knew Hollie had snitched on her, so she decided she wouldn't try keeping any secrets, she had none.

Gutt looked up as she entered. "Mikayla."

"Gutt," she replied in the same monotone voice.

"Didn't expect to see you back around here again."

She stiffened. "Yeah well, I felt I owed it to Kate and Izzy to resign from your wackjob crew in person."

This caught their attention, which basically meant every head in the cave snapped up instantly. Kate's eyes grew wide and filled with tears, while Izzy's jaw... let's just say that if it was actually possible for a jaw to hit the ground, Izzy's would've. Kenzie's mouth formed an '0', as Alex tried to contain her shock and surprise so that the sabre wouldn't attack her. Lenny and Zeke seemed astonished, but Oscar just seemed... affected, that was the best way Mikayla could discribe it. Hollie was putting on a smug face, but her eyes showed shock and a twinge of regret, where as Lauren and Rebecca both shared the same 'did that just happen?' look. Dex took a sharp intake of breath, and Bronson copied him a moment later when he figured out what was happening.

As all this was happening, Gutt and Soto seemed indifferent, cold and careless. _Exactly what they are..., _thought Mikayla. Gutt gestured to the entrance, signalling for her to leave. Leave and never return. As Mikayla was about to go, a quiet sound caught her attention.

_"Just close your eyes..."_

Mikayla noticed Izzy holding Kate close, singing into the cub's ear, but to the rest of the cave it sounded nearly silent.

_"The sun is going down._

_You'll be alright,_

_No-one can hurt you now._

_Come morning light,_

_You and I will be_

_Safe and Sound..."_

One thing was for sure; Mikayla's eyes certainly weren't without tears. But she blinked them back firmly, she didn't want her final moment in the ape's presence to be one in which she cried. Silently, she turned and walked calmly out of the cave, not wanting to say goodbye to anybody, because goodbye can forever. Seemingly embedded into her brain, Izzy's soft singing rotated around and around inside Mikayla's head, the lyrics stuck, despite the fact it was only a somewhat short chorus, they just kept repeating again and again.

Mikayla was just murmuring the song under her breath, when more voices caught her attention. For some reason, she was drawn to the voices, curiousity getting the better of her.

Before long, but not before she'd hit her head on several tree branches, Mikayla came across a large cave. To her surprise, the pirates sat in a circle around a burning fire, Shira lying with her cubs against her stomach, yet no Diego in sight. Mikayla sighed, figuring out that they must still be fighting. She'd hoped Diego would catch Shira before she got back to the herd, or the pirates, as it seemed, and that he'd be able to explain everything to her, but obviously, he hadn't.

Now, Mikayla wasn't too intelligent, but even she was smart enough not to walk out into the pirates' new location when Shira, and most likely the rest of the crew, was furious at her, and would probably take their best shot at impaling her before she got the chance to say her three words to Shira: I'm so sorry. So the regretful orange sabre turned and walked away, scratching some bark off a tree every few metres to make sure she could lead Diego back there to apologise to Shira. She sighed again, and began muttering Izzy's little song again.

* * *

Shira looked up from the flames, where she had just made out Diego's face, to her annoyance., and met her sister's golden eyes.

"Did you just hear something?" she asked, not realising she was cutting off Squint, whom she hadn't been listening to. Raz shook her head.

"No," the kangaroo shrugged "Ah think ya migh jus' be hearin' things, Sheila."

Sighing again, Shira curled up around her seven cubs, focusing on their cute little faces to distract herself from both what she thought she had heard, and from Diego, who she couldn't get out of her head. Gupta scratched the sabre between the ears, making her purr, despite her bad mood and sudden stinging headache.

Even Squint smirked at that. "Ya really haven't changed have you?" he chuckled from across the fire.

"Shut up..." she mumbled, looking down at Hope, who was batting at Kendall's face, jealous that he could talk now and was getting a lot of attention. Gently, she pried the little blonde cub away from her slightly older brother, licking her cheek to calm her down, and show her that she was as important as him. The pirates watched the adorable scene, pleased to see their baby sister so happy.

All was silent for a moment, each pirate absorbed deep into his or her own thoughts. Shira studied Kendall's face intensely, trying to find an aspect of it that didn't remind her of her mate, and failing.

"Y'know," she sighed "I wonder if I did the right thing earlier today. When I saw them together... maybe I overreacted. Maybe he was telling the truth, that it wasn't what it looked like. Maybe-"

"Sheila, from wha ya told us 'e was all over 'er," interrupted Raz "Now, maybe i' was jus' somethin tha looked bad an' wasn't, but we have no way ta know without confrontin' em."

Shira sighed again. "I know that, I just wanna _know_!"

"Ve _all _do, sis, ve all do..." agreed Gupta, ruffling her fur playfully.

"If only there was a way that we could find out without directly confronting ze sabres in question..." mused Silas, with murmurs of agreement from the others. They fell into silence again, trying to think of an idea, a lead, something that could help them.

"You know what I think I'm gonna miss most?" Shira didn't wait for an answer, she just continued "The rest of the herd. Ellie. Manny. Sid. Buck. Crash. Eddie. Peaches. Louis. Meghan, even though I don't know her too well. And even Granny. They're a second family to me guys, and I... I'm just gonna miss them so much."

"Ah know ya will, Sheila. Heck, even Ah will, an' we were only there a few days," interjected Raz. Shira sighed a third time and carried on.

"And Diego... well, I can't explain it. I don't know myself. I don't know what I'm feeling... I love and miss him... but if he and Mikayla really were... I wouldn't be able to forgive him, at least, I don't think so... I'm just so confused."

"Life can be pretty dang confusin', Shira..." Raz stared into the flames "Tha's jus' somethin' everyone has ta get used ta."

"Life can be a rose... hides her thorns beneath pretty petals..." Squint said, sounding distant, but wise.

"Very true, very true..." agreed Boris.

"Ooh, Squint sounded all wisdom-y!" commented Flynn, causing Shira to smile.

"Yeah, who told you that?" she asked, curiously.

"No-one!" Squint frowned, folding his arms "I do have thoughts! I'm not all about slicing and dicing!"

"But mostly you are?" questioned Shira innocently. Squint shrugged.

"Well, yeah, but still."

They laughed together at that, laughing as one big family, which they were, of course. After a while, Boris spoke up for once.

"So Shira, why did you get so... drawn, to the herd, I mean?"

Shira shrugged. "I don't know really... it's just... I guess I really liked how they were all a big family, like us, only less violent and with more adult figures. But, I was really intrigued when we first found them on the ice floe, I mean, two sloths, a mammoth and a sabre? I was right; they were like the start of a bad joke..." she chuckled at the memory "I just don't know why, but when I saw Gutt about to hurt Peach, I just felt compelled to stop him, to save her..."

The whole group shuddered as they relived that horrible memory...

_Flashback_

_Gutt lunged at the teenage mammoth, pulling her away from her mother. Reluctantly following their orders, Raz and Squint tied up Ellie, effectively restraining her against the chunk of ice. Shira watched helplessly, her body aching from the wounds Gutt had previously inflicted on her._

_"Stay away from me!" Peaches' voice snapped Shira from her thoughts "Let me go!"_

_"Not gonna happen," said Gutt firmly, gripping her by the tusks._

_"What did we ever do to you?" demanded Ellie. Gutt grinned maliciously._

_"You? Oh, you haven't done a thing. You're merely paying the price of your husband's actions," he explained._

_"My dad didn't do anything to you!" insisted Peaches "You're just a cruel, power-hungry tyrant, CHIMP!"_

_Everyone was taken aback by Peaches' words. The animals were surprised at how the normally calm, collected and cool Peaches had flown off the handle like that, and the pirates were shocked because nobody ever stood up to Gutt._

_"Takes after her father..." muttered Shira under her breath, but no-one heard, except Gutt._

_"Ah, so you must like her, don't you Miss Shira? Considering how much you like the small portion of her family we've already met!"_

_"When did I say I liked them?" asked Shira skeptically, but she did, and she knew it. The entire crew knew it. _

_"Oh, I don't know..." Gutt snarled at her "Maybe when you let them steal my ship!"_

_Shira winced; she knew he was right. She had let them go, and although she didn't regret it, she would've preferred if he hadn't announced that to all the other animals, as it made her look weak._

_."Now," Gutt turned away from his silent crew member and back to Peaches "Time for a little taste of revenge. A little something to teach you not to sass a pirate captain!"_

_He raised a large fishbone sword, holding it over Peaches, tilting her head back so that her throat was completely vulnerable. Seeing where this was going, Shira prepared herself for a run-up. Grinning, Gutt brought the sword down hard, aiming for the mammoth's neck. Shira leapt in front of the sword, blocking Peaches and earning a sword in her back, which slashed down to her hind leg. Everybody was shell-shocked at how indifferent Gutt was to see blood pooling on the deck underneath a member of his crew._

_The pirates could feel their hearts aching, they hated seeing their youngest sister in pain._

_End Flashback_

Shivering at the memory, Raz instinctively pulled Shira closer. The sabre didn't argue, she snuggled into the kangaroo gratefully, the memory still brought a chill down her spine.

"Maybe that's vhy you and Peaches are so close," suggested Gupta "Because even vhen you vere enemies you risked your life and took a hit for her."

"Maybe..." sighed Shira "I just... Peaches is so sweet. So is Louis, he's not as wimpy as everyone thinks."

Squint nodded. "He seemed pretty confident when he stood up to Gutt."

"So did Taz," added Silas "Ze little possum surprised me with her fighting skills."

"Yeah..." sighed Shira, watching Tina cuddle up against Casper "You know what else I liked about them? That despite the fact Diego could easily kill and eat any of them, but they know he wouldn't."

"Well Sheila, we know _you _wouldn't eat us, so wha's the diff'rence?" asked Raz.

"Huh... I guess I never thought about it like that," admitted Shira. "We're a big, crazy family too!"

"Yeah, we ain't no ordinary family either!" Squint grinned, high-fiving Gupta. Shira smiled and started to sing:

_"We are, we are, not your ordinary fam-mily, but we can all agree that,"_

Raz, Squint and Gupta joined in:

_"We are, we are,"_

_"Close as close can be!" _contributed the rest of the crew. Shira giggled.

"_So it don't matter what it looks like, we look perfect to me! We got every kind of love, I feel so lucky indeed!"_

Raz gripped Shira's paw. "_They can keep on talkin', it don't matter to me! Coz we are, we are,"_

_"Family!" _they all smirked at each-other. Then they all chipped in for the verse.

**Shira & Gupta: **_"So what, we don't look,"_

**Squint: **_"We don't act,"_

**Silas & Flynn: **_"We don't walk,"_

**Raz & Boris: **_"We don't talk,"_

**Everyone: **_"Like they do!"_

**Gupta, Squint, Raz & Shira:** _"So what, if we hang, just a-hangin', no shame, we all do what we want to!"_

**Boris & Flynn: **_"Coz we come from everywhere,"_

**Silas & Squint: **_"Searchin' for ones who care!"_

**Raz & Gupta: **_"Somehow we found it here,"_

**Shira: **_"We found us a home!"_

**Everyone: **_"We are, we are, family!"_

They all started laughing, spirits lifted immediately. The cubs had huddled together against their mother's stomach, but they weren't sleepy, they were excited because of all the singing. Shira smiled at the pirates, then rubbed her eye tiredly.

"Man, I'm tired," she yawned "Alright, I'm heading in for the night. Anyone feel like helping me with the cubs?"

Raz nodded, picking up six of the seven cubs, Shira taking Kendall in her mouth. She lay down in the back of the cave, and Raz placed the cubs beside her. Shira thanked her marsupial sister, before curling around her children protectively. Moments later, Raz carried Gupta in, as it would still be about five or six weeks before his ankle had healed.

"Night girls..." murmured Gupta, drifting off to sleep as Raz propped up his leg. Shira rolled her eyes, before letting them slide shut. Raz chuckled at the sabretooth, before heading out and returning to the rest of the crew.

**Ugh, considering the wait I made you guys endure, you really oughtta have a longer chapter. Oh well, better than none, right? Anyway, I hope none of you mind how I had the pirates singing 'We Are' too, if you do, then tell me, and I won't do it again. BTW, got a half-day in school today, so I'm gonna start the next chapter ASAP :) Thanks for reading and please review! :D**


	24. Attacks and More Attacks

**Sorry for the wait, I did try to write it as soon as possible! I have two weeks off for Easter, and since 'Carly' seems to cancel on me a lot in the holidays, I should have a lot of free-time! :D And hey, Money 100? All you need to do is create an account on here to post your stories (assuming they are Fanfiction, of course). If you create one I could always PM you the details on uploading and updating and stuff :)**

**Oh, and before I forget... I guess this doesn't matter much, but I know most people spell sabre as 'saber' but my spellcheck on my computer spells it the other way, so that's how I spell it. Just in case anyone was wondering. *shrugs* **

**Taz: I, along with Dex and Bronson, belong to scoobs5601!**

**Rebecca: And I belong to Blumacaw13!**

Taz slowly sat up, rubbing the sleepiness out of her blurry eyes. She was very surprised to see Diego right in front of her, looking sleep-deprived.

"Gah!" exclaimed Taz, laying her paw over her accelerating heart "Dude, why scare me like that?"

"I need your help."

Taz waited for further explaination, and got none. "Okay so, a gentle shaking and 'Taz, wake up' wouldn't have been better than creepily watching me sleep for who-knows-how-long?!"

Diego shrugged. "It probably would've. But since I decided I needed your help at around midnight, I figured you wouldn't be best pleased to be woken up," he explained "And anyway, this way was more fun. I wouldn't have seen your highly amusing reaction if I'd just woken you up calmly."

"Son of a shunumbunger..." she murmured "So, what didja need my help with?"

"I need you to help me find Shira and the pirates," he answered, in that same annoying monotone. Taz pressed her forehead into her paw in frustration.

"And why am _I _your chosen help for this?" she questioned. He rolled his eyes.

"Because they may have gone back to the cave they first stayed in, and you're the only one who knows where that is."

"Diego, think about it," Taz propped herself up, which she could do, as Rhianne and Herbert had left the night before, so she was sleeping on a thick pad of moss "If she wanted to get away from the herd, she wouldn't want to go somewhere that anybody knew. She would've guessed that you would ask me where the old cave was, so she would stay away from there, right?"

"Right..." sighed Diego dejectedly.

"Sorry Diego, but none of us have any idea where she is or how to find her," said Taz bluntly. Diego growled.

"But we are _going_ to find her!" snapped Diego firmly "There is no way I am going to pretend that I am okay with her disappearance, okay? Good."

And with that, he stormed off. Taz slapped herself in the forehead.

"Way to go Taz," she grumbled to herself "Anger the grieving sabre!"

* * *

Kate rubbed her eyes with her paws, yawning, as she'd hardly slept since Mikayla left. She'd only spent one night with the sabretooth, but she had grown quite attached, and now missed her terribly. Izzy, who had been up all night comforting the cub, was lying nearby, too deep in sleep to scramble to her paws and hug the young child again.

Oscar, on the other hand, was wide awake. Quietly, he padded over to the sad child, and gently held her against his chest.

"Hey, c'mon runt, no need to turn on the waterworks, eh?" he carefully wiped away her tears "There ya go, kiddo. Now c'mon, settle down, it's still pretty early, you can still get a bit of sleep before ya have to do anything."

She nodded, snuggling into Oscar, a small smile on her face. After making sure nobody was watching, he gave her a quick kiss on the head, before setting her down beside a still unconcious Izzy.

"I just hope no-one ever hears about this..." he muttered, returning to his place.

* * *

_Several Hours Later_

Diego lay underneath a tree, in a light sleep. He had eventually collapsed from tiredness, after wandering the woods, but now he had no idea where he was anymore. He was awoken gently by his old friends Manny and Sid.

"Hi!" chirped Sid rolled his eyes.

"Hi..." he murmured sleepily, still half-asleep. Manny shook the sabre's shoulder with his trunk.

"C'mon, we need to get back to the herd," when Manny got no response, he added "Ellie has a plan to find Shira."

Diego leapt to his feet. "Let's go."

Sid opened his mouth to start one of his made-up medleys, but Diego managed to silence him with a glare. Manny lifted the sloth onto his back, knowing that he would begin persistantly asking for a ride at some point.

They returned sooner than Diego anticipated, apparantly he hadn't run as far as he thought he had. The herd was gathered anxiously awaiting Diego's arrival so that Ellie could explain her master plan. Half of the flowers had fallen out of Peaches' hair, and she still hadn't discovered where they had come from. Ellie's had long fallen out, as had Meghan's, but her and Louis weren't there. Taz had run out to get them, as well as Rhianne and Herbert, and would be returning soon.

Manny dropped Sid to the floor, then stood beside Ellie, locking his trunk with hers. Sid got to his feet and took his place on a rock, luckily alone, as Granny was still napping, to his relief. Diego stood rigid, unable to relax as he wanted Shira back as soon as possible. Seeing the sabre's worried expression, Ellie cut right to the chase.

"Okay, I think that if we split up into different groups, we may have a better chance than if we troop through the forest as one, because we will be able to cover more ground. Plus, there may be certain members of the herd who she would prefer to talk to than others..." Ellie didn't say it, but Diego knew that meant him.

Before the mammoth could continue, Mikayla interrupted by barging through the bushes, out of breath from running apparantly. "G-guys..." she panted "I... woods, S-Shira... found..."

It didn't matter that she couldn't speak properly, the herd understood the main message: She knew where Shira was. Diego ran up to her, eager to find his beloved mate.

"Where?" he demanded. Mikayla pointed into the forest, still unable to speak. She'd fallen asleep in a clearing, and ran none stop back to the herd, getting slightly lost on the way, but she had marked her way by clawing at a tree every now and then, so she knew where she was going to get back to the pirates.

Diego tried to bolt off, but Manny caught him with his trunk, lifting him off the ground. "Woah there ubertracker, you have no idea where you are going!"

"I'll... show you... the way..." managed Mikayla, to which Manny nodded.

"Alright, Mikayla will lead the way, Diego will follow behind..." began Manny, but Taz turned up right then with Rhianne, Herbert, Meghan and Louis, who needed to be filled in on what was going on. Then, Manny began his speech again. Taz, already bored with the mammoth's ramblings, had zoned out and was staring into space, but suddenly zoned back in when she noticed she was staring right into...

"Alright, any questions?" concluded Manny.

"Yep," replied Taz "Anyone else see the eyes in the bushes...?"

* * *

At the pirates' new home, everyone was awake minus the cubs, who were still dozing beside their mother. Raz had just returned from gathering food with Squint, but unfortunately the best she could do for Shira was a trout she'd grabbed out of the nearby pond.

"Sorry Sheila, this is the best Ah can do fer ya," she apologised, dropping the fish in front of the sabre.

"S'okay, I'm not bothered," she assured her, before turning away to face the back of the cave so her siblings didn't have to watch her eat. The rest of the old crew feasted on various fruits and vegetables, slurping down turtleshells of water as they ate. Squint slid Shira's over to her, not caring about seeing her eat the fish, as the grossest thing he could ever watch would be the birth of the cubs that he was forced to be the midwife for.

She thanked him, before lapping up the water and grooming herself. By then, the cubs had woken up and begun nursing painfully, satisfying their hunger also. Shira groaned, already sick and tired of the sharp teeth digging into her, but she knew to be patient; it would be months before they stopped, six at the most and three at the least.

After the group had polished off every last scrap of their food (well you can't blame them, pirating is a hungry job!), Squint was sent out to get rid of the skins and cores of the fruit, and the bones of Shira's fish. Shrugging, he dumped the waste parts of the fruit in a bush, and buried the fish bones in the ground, thinking nothing of it until...

"Ew, bones!" exclaimed a girly voice underground, causing Squint to whip around and head back to where he had buried the remains of Shira's breakfast.

"Hello?" he called, bending closer to the earth "Who's there?"

A female molehog scrambled out of the ground, wiping frantically at her left arm, presumably the one that had touched the bones of the fish.

"Ugh, did you bury them there?" she demanded, to which Squint nodded awkwardly "Why? What kind of idiot just leaves fish bones lying around underground? What if an innocent little molehog like me is passing by and crashes into them, eh?!"

"Well, I didn't know what to do with them and-"

"And what kind of rabbit eats fish anyway? I know a rabbit, and she eats fruit! Fruit, like what normal rabbits eat!"

"My sisters are a kangaroo and a sabretooth, clearly I am not a normal rabbit!" Squint interrupted her, waving his arms around to show his exasperation. The molehog backed up.

"Your sisters are a kangaroo and a sabretooth?" she questioned. Squint nodded.

"Yeah, it's kinda messed-up..."

"So am I correct to assume the fish was your Smilodon sister's?"

Squint nodded. "Got that right... so, what's your name?"

"Lauren," answered the molehog, before a small rock hit her in the back. "Ouch, Ashling!"

"Idiot..." hissed a voice in the bushes "Get back here! And don't reveal our identity!"

Squint's eyes widened; was this an attack?

...

Kenzie pressed her face into the palm of her paw in despair, while Alex rolled her eyes.

"Oh, Lauren..." sighed Alex.

"Can't you do anything right?" finished Kenzie, before she leapt out of the bushes with Ashling. Alex was more cautious, but she trusted Kenzie would protect her, so she followed the two predators out.

...

Squint jumped back in shock, two deadly predators with a herbivoire?! Then he remebered Diego and the herd, so he shook away his surprise, remembering it wasn't actually all that strange.

"Alright bunny, where's the sabre?" demanded Ashling, pushing in front of a somewhat offended Kenzie.

"Don't call me a bunny!" Squint yelled, his temper flaring up, despite how hard he had tried to keep it under control recently, what with the cubs and all. Ashling raised an eyebrow, trying to act cool and casual, but the 'we're so sick of you' expressions on Kenzie and Alex's faces sort of ruined it.

* * *

Raz sighed in frustration.

"Where 'as tha' bloomin' bunny got ta?" she grumbled to herself. "I' ain't like gettin' rid of scraps is 'ard!"

Shira chuckled softly. "I'm sure he just got lost or something Raz, relax. Squint's not an idiot, he's just..." she hesitated, childhood memories coming back "Okay, so he's kind of an idiot sometimes but he can handle getting rid of scraps."

"Alrigh', 'kay, Ah get i'..." she sighed "Ah'm just worried in case somethin's 'appened to 'im."

Before anyone could answer, two sabretooths leapt out of the bushes, one looking ready to kill, the other clearly just following the leader.

"Okay, here's how it's gonna go down," the leader cut to the chase "I'm going to puncture the lot of you with my teeth, with the help of my companion Oscar, except for the little silver girl and her cubs. Now-"

He was cut off abruptly when a fishbone sword narrowly missed his head and slammed into the tree not too far behind him. Shira looked up at Raz, who was standing with several weapons in her hands, panting slightly as she struggled to bottle up the immense anger that was surging through her veins. The rest of the pirates were also readying themselves to battle the sabres, even Gupta, who couldn't stand but still raised two fists, both containing a weapon of some kind.

"Why do they always want to do it the hard way?" sighed Soto to Oscar, who didn't answer, knowing the question was rhetorical.

* * *

Squint narrowly dodged Ashling's claws as they slashed through the air, before performing an almost break dance-style spin to get away from Kenzie, who had pounced. Lauren appeared in front of him, so he flipped backwards, but this landed him inside a tight circle formed by his rivals.

"Uh-oh..." he muttered, trying to think of a plan of defense. Suddenly, he realised he was standing right above where he had buried the bones. He jumped up and down a bit, which set the attackers on edge, and, since Lauren had been tunnelling underneath it, made the ground give way. He scrambled to pick up as many bones as possible, and get out of the hole, as Kenzie had come up with the idea of trying to bury him in it.

"Aw, man," she groaned, when her plan failed.

"Ha ha, you guys can't catch me!" bragged Squint, not noticing the shadow over him "You're not fast enough to..."

He slowly turned, and looked up to see Alex about to step on him. Crying out in surprise - he'd completely forgotten that Alex was even there - he somersaulted out of the way, whacking Ashling on the nose with a bone.

"Ouch!" she whined, rubbing her nose with her paw. Squint noticed how Alex and Kenzie had to contain their giggles, but he couldn't see Lauren... so where-

"Boo!" cried Lauren, launching herself out of the ground and coming at Squint with a sharp twig. Gaining confidence, Squint stood his ground, and simply caught the twig, pulled it away from her, and snapped it in half. She pouted for a moment, but Squint got distracted when Kenzie pounced.

"Woah!" Squint spun around, hitting the leopard with some bones. This annoyed both Ashling and Alex, but Alex was the only one who reacted. She ran at Squint, looking as if she wanted to kill him, so he dashed off into the bushes, abandoning the blunt bones he had collected so they wouldn't fall and leave a trail back to his family.

* * *

The herd retreated into the large cave that was originally for the pirates, fear obvious on everybody's faces. Manny, as the leader, remained outside, as he was bigger and stronger than the others.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" he called. Taz rolled her eyes.

"Right, like some master villain is just gonna go, 'yeah, I'm at the berry bush, wanna grab some lunch?' They wouldn't respond to that!" she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"That's one smart possum," came a voice from the bushes. Taz jumped deeper into the cave immediately, cowering behind Louis, who took up a protective stance.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" demanded Manny. A familar figure emerged from the bushes.

"GUTT?!" exclaimed everybody, minus Mikayla, who just gained an incredibly frightened look.

"Miss me, Mammoth?" he asked teasingly, twirling a fishbone sword. It suddenly dawned on Diego what must've really happened to Shira the day she said she was attacked by bears.

"Wait a minute... Shira was never attacked by bears... you attacked her!" Diego burst out of the cave, a ferocious snarl on his raised her eyebrows, peeking over Louis's shoulder.

"Huh, I always assumed that was Mikayla who attacked her," she commented. Mikayla glared and growled at the possum, causing her to duck down behind Louis again.

Gutt grinned evilly. "Congratulations tiger, you can put simple things together. So, you should be able to recognise my friends."

Two sabretooths followed Gutt into the clearing, causing Manny to shrink back a little too.

"Lenny? Zeke?" Diego sounded panicky now. They nodded.

"Hey Diego," Lenny greeted him, as Zeke was too jittery at the possibility of mauling someone. Mikayla tensed, knowing that those sabres wanted to kill Diego as much as Gutt wanted to kill Shira.

"But we're not the only ones around," Gutt continued, gesturing to the various animals coming out of the bushes. Dex and Rebecca, who carelessly spat the berry she was chewing into the grass, stood ready to attack, Hollie fluttering above their heads.

Rhianne and Herbert hid behind Mikayla and Diego, hoping that the sabres would protect them. Manny had backed up so much he was practically inside the cave now, and Ellie calmingly linked her trunk with his to relax him. It didn't work.

"Well..." Gutt prompted "Get outta that cave and face us you cowards!"

Sighing, Manny advanced further out of the cave, the rest of the herd following suit. Rhianne and Herbert shivered with fear, as they had never come across an evil force that was trying to kill them before, because they were so young.

"Alright, we might as well cut to the chase," Manny shrugged. Gutt smiled.

"I agree completely. Crew," he turned to his companions "Attack!"

And then, Gutt and his crewmates surged forwards, and the herd hesitantly adanced also. Gutt produced a wide array of sharp weapons, highlighting the fact that the herd had none, causing them to retreat into the trees frantically. Gutt and hsi companions chased the herd back to the waterfall that the cae was hidden behind. All a part of Gutt's plan.

* * *

Squint launched himself into the clearing that contained the pirates' new cave, and was unpleasantly surprised to see two sabres attacking his siblings.

"Help!" he cried, dodging yet another slash of Ashling's claws. Boris instantly appeared at the rabbit's side, ramming into Ashling, which resulted in her toppling backwards into Kenzie and Alex. Lauren still advanced, but she avoided Raz and Shira, as they scared her, even though the sabre was anchored to protecting her cubs inside the cave.

"Get away from me!" she snapped, snarling at Soto, who was trying to get the cubs "Leave me alone!"

"I don't want anything to do with you!" replied Soto, just as irritably "I only want to kill Diego's children!"

"Why?" she hissed, pushing Ranger back, as he was trying to get in front of Shira to protect her.

"Because I have unfinished business with him, and killing his children - and hopefully fatally wounding you in the process - will be my revenge," explained Soto, rolling his eyes as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Shira backed up instantly, but was still confused. "What 'unfinished business'?"

"Did he never tell you?" Soto feigned surprise "Oh, I would've thought he'd bragged hopelessly about how he abandoned me and my pack for that mammoth and sloth, then impaled me cruelly with icicles to save a human child."

Shira's eyes widened, as she knew nothing of the story about Roshan. Diego hadn't told her it in case she disagreed with him and thought him a heinous killer for murdering Soto. Raz suddenly appeared at her side, grabbing the cubs and piling them into her pouch in a random order, which meant they didn't fit as well as they did last time she carried them, leaving Kendall's head poking out.

"Daddy?" he looked around, clearly wanting Diego "Daddy!"

Soto grinned maliciously, and began to advance on Raz, before Shira pounced and sank her teeth into his shoulder. He roared in pain, but the wound wasn't fatal, so he pushed Shira away by kicking her in the stomach. As the cubs had been nursing quiet a lot from their mother, the blow to her stomach hurt badly, leaving a stinging sensation in her body.

Raz gently placed a hand between Shira's shoulder blades, rubbing the sabre's back to release the tension. Shira smiled up at her sister, before pressing herself against the cave wall and baring her teeth at Soto, who was readying himself to attack. The sisters glanced at each-other, before bolting out of the cave and into the trees.

"Retreat!" declared Raz, vanishing into the forest. The pirates followed their sisters, Flynn carrying Gupta, whose heart was pounding with fear. The attackers dashed after them, determined not to lose their targets.

As they were running, Shira decided to try and go a bit further to the side, so the enemies would lose her and she could pounce, taking one or two down. Raz noticed, and warned her against it, but Shira didn't listen. Suddenly, she stepped on a weak patch of earth, which gave out under her weight. The sabre tumbled down, alarming everybody.

"Silas!" Raz looked up at the bird "Follow 'er an' keep 'er safe!"

Silas nodded, flying down into the hole in the ground after Shira. The attackers didn't want to fall down too, so they avoided the hole also.

* * *

Shira's body slammed into the ground, hard. Tears sprung from her eyes, despite how much she didn't want them to, but the impact had forced them out. Suddenly, she felt a feathery wing on her head.

"Silas?" she mumbled.

"_Oui, ma soeur_," he replied, stroking her neck.

"So, where are we?" she asked, sitting up. Silas, who was perched on her paws, shrugged.

"I don't know, Shira," he sighed "But I zink it is necessary zat we get outta here soon."

She nodded, nuzzling the bird she had grown up with, thankful that she wasn't alone in this strange place.

**So, where do you think Shira and Silas are? Okay, yes, it's kinda easy to guess, but I didn't put many clues in. Again, sorry for the wait, hopefully that won't happen again... for 2 or 3 chapters at least. Thanks for reading and please review! xD**


	25. A New Friend and A Death?

**Alright, started this directly after posting 24, and can I just say that since I forgot to put this in 23 when Izzy actually sang it, the song was Safe and Sound and it was by Taylor Swift, so clearly I don't own it.**

**BTW, soz if any of the German that Gupta speaks is incorrect, I just used Google Translate.**

**Taz: Dex, Bronson and I belong to scoobs5601!**

**Rebecca: And I - along with another new person in this chapter - belong to Blumacaw13!**

Shira curled around Silas, guarding her brother from any danger. Suddenly, she spotted a small wooden hut nearby. She took a little rock between her claws and threw it at the door of the hut. There was some rustling, and a weasel emerged.

"Alright, what's going on out-" the weasel cut herself off when she saw a sabre and a bird "Okay, what is happening? A sabre and a bird? Down here?"

Shira sat up, nudging Silas back to warn him in case she was danger.

"We could say the same about a weasel," pointed out Shira. The weasel rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. _I _actually live here. _You _have appeared out of nowhere. Why?" she asked, folding her arms and tapping her foot. Shira sighed.

"Ya really wanna know?"

The weasel nodded.

* * *

_"Was tun wir? Was tun wir? Unsere Schwester fehlt, wir werden angegriffen, wir werden sterben, wir werden sterben!" _babbled Gupta, panicking.

"What did he say?" asked Flynn. The pirates were hiding out in a small ditch, having lost their enemies a short while ago.

"I think he said 'What do we do? What do we do? Our sister is missing, we're being attacked, we're going to die, we're going to die!' in German," translated Squint "I think."

_"Was tun wir? Was tun-" _Gupta began again, but he cut himself off when Raz poked his sore leg "Ouch, vhat vas that for?"

"Ta getcha ta stop panickin'," Raz shrugged. Gupta scowled, picked a Lotus berry from a nearby bush, threatened to squirt some juice at Raz, then poured some on his stinging leg.

"Vell you didn't have to slap my leg..." mumbled Gupta sulkily.

"Yeah, it was kinda mean Raz," agreed Boris.

"Indeed," said Lauren, standing behind Squint.

"Yeah- wait, who said that?" asked Squint, before turning around and seeing Lauren "Gah!"

Kenzie and Ashling appeared at the top of the ditch, grinning hungrily. Alex waited behind them, as she didn't trust Soto so wouldn't wait with him and Oscar behind the pirates in the ditch.

The band of misfits attempted to run, but soon discovered that wasn't likely as Soto and Oscar were lurking behind them.

* * *

The herd thundered through the trees, their attackers close on their heels. Taz climbed onto Peaches' back, while Louis hopped onto Meghan's. The possum soon found out why Louis didn't want to ride on Peaches, as she took to the trees quickly when Gutt started to gain on her slightly.

"AAH!" screamed Taz, clinging to the mammoth's hair for dear life. Hearing another scream, Mikayla's ears pricked up and she huriedly slipped away from the herd, thankfully unnoticed.

She raced and raced through the bushes, unpursued for now, until she saw the pirates being cornered in a ditch.

"This way!" she yelled, dropping down into the ditch and gesturing for them to follow her. Deciding they had no other options, the pirates set off after the sabre they hated so bitterly, Raz now carrying Gupta _and _the cubs, as they were in her pouch.

* * *

"-and that's how we got here," Shira finally finished her explaination. The weasel's eyes grew wide, yet slightly doubtful.

"Okay, that sounds like a story someone would tell to their kid to get 'em to fall asleep."

Shira shrugged. "I warned you, but you wanted to know."

"_Mademoiselles?" _Silas spoke up "I hate to interrupt, but Shira, we need to get back to ze surface if we are going to help our siblings."

Shira nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Listen weasel, we gotta get outta here. Are you gonna help or not?"

"Eh, why not," the weasel shrugged.

"Okay, I'm Shira, this is my adoptive brother Silas, and you are?"

"Diesel," she answered calmly "Now c'mon before-"

A roar echoes through the trees. Diesel face-palmed.

"Too late."

"What was zat?" asked Silas.

Diesel answered with one word. "Rudy."

* * *

Mikayla and the pirates reunited with the herd pretty soon, but they were almost at the waterfall. This meant that all the attackers were reunited again, except for Jasper, Izzy, Kate and Bronson, who weren't invovled in the attack. Yet.

"Quick! Into the water!" ordered Manny.

"But, we can't swim!" protested Squint, to which the other pirates, Mikayla, and Taz all nodded.

"Well learn fast!" snapped Manny, charging up to the water's edge. But suddenly, a narwal with a chipped horn appeared in front of him.

"Nope, not happening," the narwal smirked.

"Nice work, Jasper," praised Hollie, fluttering above them. Gutt, Soto and the others gathered behind the herd, Jasper the narwal blocking their water escape.

Gutt smirked evilly, then began to casually inspect his claws before saying "Attack."

Everyone leapt into action. Hollie flew towards Manny, pecking at his face cruelly with her beak. Squint rushed in to help, zipping around the mammoth like he did to tie him up back when he worked with Gutt, but quickly learned it's very hard to catch a hummingbird.

"Dang, she's fast!" he complained.

"Duh!" Taz rolled her eyes "Do you have any idea how fast hummingbirds can fly?"

"No, how fast?"

"Uhm... I dunno, very!"

"Y'know Taz, you're not kinda like Izzy after all," commented Squint.

"I'm not?"

"Nope. You're exactly like her!"

Taz smiled at Squint, and he smiled back, until they remembered Hollie.

"Ha, can't catch me, can't catch me!" she bragged childishly. What she didn't notice was Rhianne getting a run-up. "Ha, can't catch me, can't catch me!"

The young snow wolf cub ran fast, using a rock as a launchpad, and flew through the air towards the bird. Hollie noticed at the last possible second, but even she couldn't get away fast enough as Rhianne's claws grazed one of her wings, injuring it. This allowed the cub to effectively pin the bird in the sky, but they were still hurtling to the ground from mammoth height.

Rhianne screamed, catching the attention of Flynn and Meghan. The elephant seal wobbled forwards, just catching the young cub in his flippers, hugging her close to calm her down. Hollie, meanwhile, started frantically flapping her unharmed wing in an attempt to lessen the impact of the fall. It had an effect similar to that of a parachute, so she wasn't badly hurt.

Meghan skillfully placed a hollowed-out rock over the hummingbird, ensuring she didn't escape. Ashling then advanced on the mammoth teen, but was sent flying into a rockface by Peaches, who had swung from a nearby tree using a vine to save her friend.

* * *

Taz, Crash and Eddie soon found themselves challenged by Zeke.

"Alright possums, let's go!" Zeke bared his teeth. Trying to hopefully get them out of fighting the sabre, whose teeth were much sharper and larger up close, Taz spoke up, imagining an air of confidence to help her.

"Right, you're too chicken to fight someone your own size, so you fight possums. Oh wait, possums _are _your size!" she taunted. The sabre twitched, then readied to attack. In a last second resort, Crash and Eddie started whipping the tiger with their tails. Taking their advice for once, Taz copied, and soon the sabre found himself strangely out-numbered.

While they were distracting them, Buck swung down on a vine and began to tie Zeke up.

"Hey, back off rat!" snapped Zeke.

Buck responded merely with a cry of "Yeeha!" before finishing his work with a neat bow. Zeke was now completely immobilised, and quite frankly very humiliated as he was wrapped up in vines with a bow on his head.

* * *

Alex and Kenzie teamed up, as usual, but when Diego and Mikayla came at them, Alex panicked and retreated fearfully, to promptly knock herself out on a sturdy tree branch. Kenzie sighed, but still protected her friend from the carnivores who might eat her. Crash and Eddie, having recovered from Zeke, hung down from a branch and fired their rock spitballs at Kenzie, distracting her long enough for Diego to pack a serious pounce, leaving her barely concious.

She took a moment to recover, but when she did, she came at the sabres with new fury. This fiery fury was soon extinguished when Peaches swung into her too, slamming her against the tree trunk, rendering her unconcious for real this time.

* * *

Lauren tunneled up to Louis, but instead of aggressively confronting him, she popped up right in front of his face, scaring him.

"Oh, I'm sorry baby, did I scare you?" she cooed, attempting to cuddle him. Taz saw this, and her vision became tinted red. As Lauren leaned in to kiss Louis on the cheek, she was met with a rock to the head, causing her to topple to the ground under her own weight, completely knocked out. Louis looked up, to see a very angry Taz juggling several rocks, before she realised he was looking at her. When she noticed, she blushed crimson and tossed the rocks away, standing there sheepishly.

* * *

Boris and Raz teamed up against Lenny and Dex. Raz twirled her spear around effortlessly, purposely but subtly holding it over her pouch, so that the cubs were safe. She'd previously stuffed Kendall deeper into her pouch, so he couldn't be seen anymore. Boris readied himself to fight, and quickly dodged an attack from Dex before charging at the wolverine.

Lenny made a run for Raz, but soon discovered that taking the shaft of a wooden spear to the chest hurts badly. He was sent skidding across the battlefield, as Raz ran to help her brother. Dex put up more of a fight than Lenny, but a kick in the stomach from Raz's hind feet left him winded and only semi-concious.

"Ouch, they'll have some bruises tomorrow," predicted Boris, to which Raz nodded and bowed.

* * *

Sid accidentally stumbled backwards into the water, only to be met with Jasper's horn.

"Ow!" he whined, catching the attention of several hyraxes, who flew over with their leaf paragliders and started to beat up Jasper. He almost punctured the leader fatally with his chipped horn, so Sid grabbed a sharp stick, leapt into the water bravely, and poked and prodded the narwal for all he was worth.

Jasper eventually gave up, diving under the water to rid himself of the sloth and hyraxes, and speeding away.

"Yeah! Victory!" cheered Sid, high-fiving the hyraxes.

* * *

Just as Raz and Boris were celebrating their triumph, a frantic Diego ran up, Mikayla at his side.

"Raz, where's Shira?" he asked, or rather, demanded.

"She fell down some 'ole in the ground back there with Silas, we don't know where Sheila is aneh'more..." sighed Raz.

"WHAT?!" exclaimed both sabres. Before anyone could stop him, Diego raced off in the direction of the hole. Quickly, Gutt grabbed him, hiding him in the bushes and covering his mouth so he couldn't yell.

"Easy tiger, I'm just stopping you wasting your time. Shira's dead," Gutt lied. Diego growled.

"I don't believe you."

"Can this convince you?" Gutt held up a silver pelt, complete with beautiful black stripes. Diego's eyes widened.

"H-how..."

"I found her in the ground, bleeding and beaten. So, I put her out of her misery," Gutt wrapped the pelt around Diego "Here, have a feel. Soft and silky, isn't it?"

Diego could only nod, and bury his head in what he thought was his beloved's fur. A single tear fell from his eye and soaked into the pretend pelt. "Shira," he murmured "I'm so sorry."

* * *

Meanwhile, down in the Dinoland, Shira, Silas and Diesel were hastily running from Rudy.

"What're we gonna do?" asked Shira, terrified. Diesel shrugged.

"For now, keep running!"

"Until?" prompted Silas.

"Until we come up with a better plan!" snapped Diesel irritably, her muscles burning from all the running. Shira's eyes widened; she had a plan.

"Guys, we need to get Rudy to follow us to the surface!" she blurted out randomly.

"What?!" cried Diesel and Silas at once.

"You heard me, he can take down Gutt!" explained Shira.

"Gutt's alive?!" gasped Silas, who didn't know. Shira nodded, before running in the direction of a slanted slope leading upwards that she had spotted not too far in the distance. It led up into a small cavern, so Rudy wouldn't rip the earth apart coming up.

The baryonx followed the sabre, bird and weasel up above ground, not realising it was a trick. Shira led the dinosaur to the battle scene, following the trail of destruction as a took a swipe at the air, almost shredding Silas into thirds.

"Shira, ze dinosaur almost tore me apart, _again_!" he complained. Shira chewed her lip. She could see that Diesel was tiring immensely, so she grabbed the weasel and threw her to Silas, who caught her on his back.

"Fly off and warn the herd about Rudy!" called Shira. Silas nodded, and flew off with Diesel clinging to his feathers.

* * *

Diego sobbed bitterly into the freezing pelt he thought was Shira's, finally releasing the tears he had kept inside recently. Gutt just scoffed at the pathetic sabre; he always enjoyed watching loved ones grieve, especially when the one they were greiving wasn't dead for real.

"My poor Shira," he whimpered, cuddling into the pelt, still wrapped around his body like a blanket.

"What a wimp of a sabre..." muttered Gutt. Diego heard, but didn't react, he was too busy missing his mate.

* * *

Silas flapped into the clearing, still with Diesel on his back. Suddenly, he swerved, causing Diesel to drop off his back.

"Wow, maybe I should just stop carrying people on my back..." mused Silas, before swooping down to catch the falling weasel.

As he was swinging around on vines, Buck suddenly crashed into a female weasel. Literally, she was falling and he swung into her.

"Woah, sorry mate," he chuckled, hanging onto her so she would stop falling "Didn't mean to crash into ya there!"

"No problem," she replied, straightening herself as best she could and clinging to the still swinging vine herself. "So, who're you?"

"The name's Buck, short for Buckminster, long for Buh," he greeted, tightening his grip on the vine with one paw and offering the other for a handshake "You?"

"Diesel," she answered simply, shaking his paw quickly before grabbing onto the vine again. The two weasels swung the vine back and forth for a bit, occasionally grabbing supplies and delivering them to those in need. Seeing that Diesel was okay, Silas flew straight to Raz.

"Raz!" he called to get her attention "Shira is coming, but she is bringing, uhm... a new ally, I suppose..."

Raz was about to ask, until a roar rang through the island.

"Rudy?!" exclaimed Buck, in disbelief and shock. "I thought he was dead?!"

"Why'd you think that?" asked Diesel, throwing a sharp shard of rock down to one of the hyraxes, who was working as part of a team to take down Oscar.

"Well, a few months ago, I saw him down in the dinoworld, lying on his back, not moving, with his eyes closed!"

"Oh yeah, I accidentally knocked him unconcious a while back, but he's okay now," explained Diesel casually. Buck looked confused, yet somewhat impressed. He had to admit, this Diesel girl was pretty interesting...

A vicious roar, yet not from Rudy, broke Buck out of his thoughts. Soto sprang at Raz, aiming for her pouch. Knowing she could never get away in time, Raz bravely snatched all seven cubs from her pouch and threw them to various members of the herd. Taz and Louis caught Tina between them, Mikayla grabbed Hope, Manny caught Kendall, Lightning ended up with Crash and Eddie, Ranger steadied himself, before being picked up by Sid, Casper got cuddled by Peaches, and somehow Buck and Diesel wound up holding Jade together.

Soto, unable to stop the momentum of the pounce, continued forward. His claws and teeth sank into Raz's stomach, drawing blood almost immediately upon contact. The kangaroo fell back, forcing her tears inside, knowing she could never cry in public. Carelessly, Soto retracted his claws, and pulled out his teeth. He licked himself clean, acting like he had all the time in the world.

Mikayla's eyes filled with tears as she watched blood pour from the kangaroo's wounds into her fur. Gupta, twisted ankle or not, staggered towards his sister, clasping her paw in both of his.

"Razzy?" he whispered. She smiled.

"G'bye, mate..." she whispered "Say hey ta Sheila fer meh..."

Raz gently grew limp, her eyes drifting shut, her chest becoming motionless. The last thing she heard was the united cry of all her siblings echoing inside her head.

"Razzy!"

**Crud, short chapter again _ **

**Sorry, I bet all you pirate fans are sharping the pitchforks and lighting the torches for the angry mob, right? Please review, and thanks for reading! Will try to update as soon as possible. Almost didn't post this at all until I'd finished Chap 26, but I decided that would be cruel.**


	26. Final Battles and Miracles

**Look, I know everyone is super-mad at me for last chapter, but please just read this one, no matter how mad you were for last time. Please. You'll be glad after, okay?**

**Started this right after posting 25, so hopefully the wait wasn't too bad for you guys. Hey, y'know what I discovered the other day that I forgot to put in the A/N last time? I am absolutely terrified of roller blades. Sure wish I'd known that the other day before 'Carly' got me to go roller blading with her and 'Helen'. Sigh.**

**Disclaimer: Taz, Dex, Bronson = scoobs5601, Rebecca and Diesel = Blumacaw13, all the other OC's = me**

A tired, scared, silver sabress raced through the trees, legs aching, muscles burning. A white baryonx chased after her, but the sabre could see her destination. She managed to momentarily lose the dino in the forest, which gave her just enough time to run to the clearing, and see a wounded kangaroo surrounded by her pirate brothers.

"R-Raz...?" whispered Shira, before speaking up "Raz! Razzy!"

"Shira," she turned to Squint "Raz is, is..." trailing off, he pointed to the sky, indicating she was gone. Shira's eyes filled with tears, but she blinked them back. She could see Raz hadn't crying during her defeat, so she vowed not to cry either.

"Who?" she hissed. Everyone, even the attackers who were concious, pointed to Soto. Shira leapt forward, slashing at him fiercely with her claws.

"How. Dare. You. Hurt. My. Sister?!" she roared, ripping into the sabre with every word. No-one stopped her, not even Soto's pack, as Oscar ushered them back.

"Easy, she'll just kill us too," he muttered. _And anyway, she's doing the world a favour getting rid of him. If someone could only kill Gutt..._

* * *

After recovering from his depression, Diego scrubbed at his eyes with his paws, before turning his pent-up grief on Gutt in anger. He lunged for the ape, but soon met with a thick tree trunk.

"Ow..." he mumbled, rubbing the back of his head.

"Weak kitty," sighed Gutt, producing many fishbone swords he had previously hidden. Still swathed in Shira's fake pelt, Diego raced away from crazy old Gutt, heading in the direction of the main fight.

* * *

Back in the clearing, everybody was trying to pull Shira off of Soto's bleeding corpse, as she had long ago killed him but was now "avenging Raz", as she put it, by digging her claws into him over and over, leaving long slashes down his body.

Finally, Ellie managed to tear Shira away from Soto, setting her down beside Raz. One by one, the herd placed the cubs beside Shira, who was now lying next to Raz, resting her head on her lost sister's chest. Suddenly, what really happened dawned on Shira. Raz had sacrificed herself to save the cubs.

"Oh, Raz..." she quivered, burying her face into the kangaroo's purple, blood-stained fur. The rest of the pirates gathered around Raz also, silently paying their respects to her.

This was interrupted when Diego, still tangled in the phony pelt, burst into the clearing, Gutt on his heels. He tripped and fell, skidding across the ground on the side of his face, like when Shira had pinned him in Switchback cove originally.

The ape charged, about to kill, but Shira, already having lost a member of her family, wasn't ready to lose someone else. She threw herself at Gutt, but soon realised her errors. Gutt kicked a rock aside, unveiling a small pool of lava, with a few bone swords marinating. He pulled one out, stabbing it into Shira's leg.

"Oh my gosh!" screamed someone. Squint watched curiously as a female rabbit, about his age, raced up to the pained sabre, cupping her head in her paws. A musk-ox and small mountain lion cub followed suit. Dex, now awake properly, smirked maliciously.

Squint suddenly felt a surge of memories rush into his head...

_A young Shira lay on the deck of an ice ship (not one of Gutt's though), a cut on her side bleeding into her fur. A honey coloured rabbit with dazzling lime eyes hurried to her side, despite Squint's shouting of various warnings._

_A wolverine stood over the sabre, that same smirk on his face. A mammoth moved to where Squint's younger sister was tending to Shira's wounds. Shira protested, knowing she would survive just fine, but the doe persistently tried to heal the tiger._

_The mammoth lifted her, carrying her to the very edge of the ship, before he let go._

"Izzy!" gasped Squint, recognising his missing sister, blood sister. He ran and squeezed her tight.

"Squint!" she sobbed, holding him as they both cried.

Mikayla stared at the scene, and watched Shira's eyes fill with pain, but she knew it wasn't from the wound on her leg. It was because she missed her own sister. Mikayla felt her own eyes fill with tears, and Oscar saw this. Soto was dead. Nobody had any power over Oscar now. He was free to be himself. He ran at Gutt, dodging the heated weapons throw at him, and lunged for the ape's throat.

"No-one makes my girl cry..." he hissed in the dying monkey's face.

"Your girl?" whispered Mikayla. Oscar blushed deep red.

"Uh, yeah... if that's okay with you..."

Despite how gentle and peaceful the moment was, Taz couldn't help herself. "Take that Captain Butt!" she yelled, causing everyone but the pirates, who were grieving, to giggle.

* * *

Diego wrestled out of the pelt. He knew know that Gutt had lied, and now Shira needed him most. He licked her behind the ears, kissed her on the cheeks, but he knew it was in vain. Shira couldn't stop crying, but the pirates had all turned away from the body now.

"I guess it's all over..." sighed Manny. A roar erupted.

"Nope," muttered Diesel. Rudy appeared suddenly, towering over the herd. But he had no intention to attack, even he could sense the emotional pain of the pirates in the air. Instead, he gave them all soft, kind nudges with his snout.

"Now d'ya see why I like him?" asked Buck, to which Shira nodded. There was a moment of silence, until...

"Well, Ah think we can all call tha' a job well done, righ' mates?"

"Raz?!" screamed everybody.

The kangaroo's golden eyes fluttered open, one by one. She was quickly embraced by her siblings, and soon after the rest of the herd. During the excited babble of Raz's return, Rebecca cleared her throat.

"Excuse me?" everyone turned to her "I, me and the others, were wonderin' if, maybe... we could stay, on the island, for a bit?"

The herd considered it, and eventually agreed, with some persuasion from Mikayla.

"Alright, we need to get Raz and Shira back to the caves so that they can heal," ordered Manny. Izzy grinned.

"I can heal 'em, healing's my thing."

The herd - plus the new additions - packed up and just about got back to their clearing. Jasper decided to stay in the water by the waterfall, as he was limited as to where he could go, but he agreed to converse with the others at times. Hollie's wing had no serious damage, so she could fly again soon. Rhianne, Herbert and Meghan all had to go home, but Louis was allowed to stay with the herd for the night, as his parents had already cleared it.

_**Later that night**_

Izzy finished putting the cast on Shira's leg.

"Okey-dokey, that should do it," she declared. Shira smiled.

"So I can get up and go see Raz now?"

"Well, no, you can't walk for a while, it'll damage your leg."

"But my leg feels fine now!" protested Shira.

"Look, if you walk on that we may have to amputate it!" groaned Squint.

"So," Taz appeared at the entrance, Diesel at her side "I'm guessing if you guys ever made a career out of this, Squint would tell the harsh truth..."

"While Izzy sugercoats it for him?" finished Diesel. Both nodded. Taz and Diesel rolled their eyes before exiting, ready to tell Raz that Shira was okay now.

* * *

Raz lay, heavily bandaged and barely concious, on a makeshift bed, sipping a herbal concotion through a hollow rock, like Izzy had instructed. She was excited to see Izzy again, but the happy reunion could wait until later, when they were all healed and well again.

"Raz!" the kangaroo looked up to see Taz and Diesel

"Hey guys," she whispered weakly. "So, 'ow's Sheila doin'?"

"She's fine, but she can't walk for a while," Diesel informed her. Raz smiled.

"Ah'm jus' glad she's okay."

"And we're just glad that you're okay," said Taz with a smile, holding the kangaroo's paw "We all thought you were really gone."

"Then ya shoulda checked fer a pulse, mate," she smirked. Izzy had used a lot of Lotus berries to numb Raz's wounds to the point where they wouldn't hurt anymore, and then bandaged them up with long leaves and soft vines. Neither Raz nor Shira could move for at least a month, maybe two for Shira, as the burning sword had burnt away some of the fur on her leg, and obviously caused inside damage to the leg.

"You should get some sleep," decided Diesel, helping Raz lie straight again.

The kangaroo sighed, but obliged. "'kay, bu' the first chance Ah get Ah'm goin' ta see Sheila."

"Alright, alright," agreed Taz "Man, you're persistant."

"All part of bein' a pirate, Taz," she smiled. "All part of bein' a pirate."

**Come on now, I could never really kill her off!**

**Man, another ridiculously short chapter. Plus it was really bad... oh well, I wanted to get this up ASAP, may go back and edit it later. Warning: The next few chapters will also be short, because I'm going to do a little scene between each pairing, two per chapter, so the next few chapters may be short, depending on how things go.**

**BTW, does anyone know the couple name for PeachesxEthan? Coz I have no idea...**

**Think I may've rushed this too much, but it's not over yet, so there will be more with the new crew getting settled in, and Buck, Diesel and Rudy, etc, etc, this isn't where it ends. Thanks for reading and please review! :)**


	27. Sweet Siblings and 'Mellie'

**K'so, you should be able to guess who this chapter focuses on, but here's a hint. Izzy and Squint's reunion and Manny and Ellie. Wow, that was a big hint, lol. Please review! Oh, and quick question, should Peaches be with Ethan or someone else? Or should she just be single for a while?**

**Oh, and Money 100? First, don't worry, it doesn't annoy me at all, in fact, I actually like it when people review lots :) And second, to create an account you just go to the top corner (not the one that has 'unleash your imagination', the other one) and hit 'Sign Up'.**

**Taz: I, Dex and Bronson belong to scoobs5601!**

**Diesel: I belong to Blumacaw13, as does Rebecca.**

Squint embraced his long-lost little sister lovingly, stroking her floppy ears.

"I missed you so much," he sighed. He heard her giggle.

"I missed you too," she admitted, patting his back. He smiled, playfully tugging on one of her long ears. She scowled; that had always annoyed her. She tried to wriggle away from him, but he tightened his grip on her.

"Hey, this is the first time I've seen you in years! I have the right to annoy you just this once!" he protested. She rolled her eyes.

"Whatever..." she squeezed her brother very tight on purpose, smirking as she heard him struggle to breathe.

"Iz? Izzy? Izabella! C'mon, I know you're doing that on purpose!" he gasped. She finally released him, and he took several deep breaths to recover.

She grinned triumphantly. "Ain't so much fun annoying me now, is it?" she teased, poking his arm. He swatted her paw away, before pulling her in for another hug.

"So, how come you're, well, here? I mean, I thought you were... you know, uhm, gone," he managed, feeling awkward saying it out loud.

"Well..." Izzy wondered how to explain "After the mammoth guy dropped me off the side of his ship..."

_Flashback (Izzy's POV)_

_I screamed as I fell down towards the raging water, thinking it was the end._

_"Squint!" I shouted, begging for my brother to come and save me like he always did when I got into trouble. But of course he couldn't this time. He was back up on the ship, probably watching me fall, poor guy._

_The water was freezing upon contact, and instantly I discovered that the best I could do to stay above the water was randomly splashing. Eventually, I gave up, knowing I couldn't swim anymore, or at least attempt to, I was too tired, and the situation was hopeless. As I began to sink under the surface, I heard Shira's familiar voice begin to sing:_

_"_I remember tears streaming down your face  
When I said, "I'll never let you go"  
When all those shadows almost killed your light  
I remember you said, "Don't leave me here alone"  
But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight

Just close your eyes  
The sun is going down  
You'll be alright  
No one can hurt you now  
Come morning light  
You and I'll be safe and sound"

_Squint came to the edge of the ship, apparantly about to jump in after me, but Raz caught hold of him and held him against her chest as Shira continued:_

"Don't you dare look out your window darling  
Everything's on fire  
The war outside our door keeps raging on  
Hold onto this lullaby  
Even when the music's gone  
Gone

Just close your eyes  
The sun is going down  
You'll be alright  
No one can hurt you now  
Come morning light  
You and I'll be safe and sound

Just close your eyes  
You'll be alright  
Come morning light,  
You and I'll be safe and sound..."

_The three left the side of the ship, Shira still limping slightly because of the cut on her side that I hadn't been able to heal. The mammoth captain had been attacked by Gutt once he dropped me, and the wolverine who had injured Shira had gone to help out his friend who was fighting Boris or someone, I hadn't cared who._

_As I sunk lower into the water, something grabbed a hold of me, pulling me up, while something else shouted instructions. I looked up to see a young Mountain Lion staring down at me. _

_I gasped. "A-Are y-you, gonna, e-eat, me?!" I squeaked fearfully. She looked astonished, and shook her head._

_"What? Of course not!" she seemed appalled by my accusation "I was only helping you!"_

_"S-Sorry," I stammered "It's just, I'm a rabbit, and you're a predator, so I thought, I mean, I assumed that..."_

_"I'd try to rip you apart first chance I got?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"Well, I won't," she promised "I can look after you. Once we get out of this ocean, of course. There's an island a little distance away from here, we can go there. If you want."_

_I shrugged, watching the two ships drift further and further from the small ice floe the mountain lion and I were on. "Sure."_

_"Cool," she smiled "I'm Marina. And you are?"_

_"Izabella," I replied "But you can just call me Izzy, if you want."_

_End Flashback_

"So, after a few days, maybe a week, Marina and I made it to the island she was talking about, and since then I just hung out with her. She found a mate, and had a little daughter," Izzy gestured to Kate playing in the dandelions "When she died, her last wish was for me to take care of Kate, as her mate was already gone. I was her last hope, and I never left Katsie after that. Never."

Squint silently rubbed her back as she fought back sobs, missing Marina more than anything. "Poor kid..." he sighed looking over at Kate "She went through a lot."

"And at a young age," agreed Izzy "I doubt she even remembers Marina now, she was so small."

Squint frowned. "That little squirt needs a mom figure," he announced. Izzy nodded.

"Yeah, I'm the most she's had lately, but she needs someone who can really take care of her."

"I'm sure you did a good job, sis," Squint assured her, squeezing her paws. She shook her head.

"Nah, I was kinda suckish at it. Looking after such a young child was hard, especially since-"

"We were the only kids that you ever knew?" interruped Squint, referring to him and the other pirates. Izzy rolled her eyes.

"I suppose, but I meant since I wasn't too far off one myself at the time. I mean, sure, this was all only a few months ago, but still, I've always been more childish than I should be! You knew this!" Izzy flapped her hands wildly to emphasize her point. Squint chuckled, before slipping his arm around her neck.

"Heh... yeah, that's just about right..." he smiled at his sister. She elbowed him in the stomach, but only jokingly, of course. Suddenly, Sid waddled over.

"Hey Squint, who's your friend?" he asked curiously. Squint grinned proudly.

"Sid, this is my amazingly awesome little sister Izabella, or, as we all call her, Izzy!"

Izzy smiled politely. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you two, cutie-pie!" cooed Sid. Izzy tensed, as if fighting a sudden urge to attack.

"Call me that again, and you won't be able to see past the stars," she threatened. Sid looked confused.

"What stars, little one?" he asked innocently, not getting that he was annoying her. Izzy jumped up so she was level with Sid's face, before swinging herself around and kicking him in the face. Hard.

Sid stumbled backwards, unbalanced by the rabbit's kick. "Oh, those stars..." he muttered painfully. Izzy nodded smugly, sliding back into her position under Squint's arm.

Squint raised one eyebrow questioningly as the sloth walked away. "Okay, what's up? Why'd you hit Sid?"

"Technically, I kicked him," pointed out Izzy "But I hate being called 'cute' or 'little', it makes me feel small and helpless!"

Squint chuckled as Izzy sulked. "You really haven't changed, Iz..."

"Shut up..." she mumbled, hugging him again. Squint hugged her back firmly, glad to finally have his lost sister back with him again. And this time, he was gonna make sure she stayed safe. That was a promise he'd made to himself. A promise he vowed to keep.

* * *

Manny stood alone, looking out over the ocean and thinking. He was so deep in thought, he didn't even notice Ellie approach behind him until she spoke.

"Manny? You okay?"

He jumped slightly. "Woah Ellie, you scared me then!"

"How?" chuckled Ellie "You should've been able to hear a mammoth's footsteps, especially being one yourself!"

"Whatever..." Manny rolled his eyes and returned to staring out over the water.

"Manny? What's wrong?" asked Ellie, surprised with her husband's attitude, especially towards her. Manny sighed, looking down at the grass.

"It's just- when Gutt first took Shira, I promised you that night I would prove the other villains we'd faced were already dead. And now, after all this..." Manny took a deep breath "I realise I was so wrong. Every villain we'd faced besides the water creatures from the Meltdown came back to finish us, and if it wasn't for Oscar changing sides and killing Gutt... or Soto attacking Raz, which provoked Shira's attack... we might not've beaten them."

Ellie stepped forward, linking her trunk with Manny's. "But Manny, sweetie, Oscar _did _change sides, and Soto _did _attack Raz, which, in hindsight was incredibly stupid, as it lead to his own downfall, but the point is, all that _did _happen, and we did beat them, so it's okay."

"Thanks Ellie," Manny smiled gratefully at his mate, squeezing her trunk. He sighed again, and she frowned.

"That's not all that's been bothering you, is it?" she questioned, pulling away slightly to look him in the eye. Manny sighed for a third time.

"No, it's not..." Manny knew what Ellie was gonna ask next, so he answered her question before she could say it "Well, remember when Shira was scared to come back to the herd? Because of me?"

Ellie nodded. "Yeah, I remember. But you guys worked that out, right?"

"Yeah, but I just..." he took a deep breath "I still feel awful that she was afraid to come back to our family because I hurt her... and although she's gotten over it now, I'm not a hundred percent sure Diego has... and anyway, I don't think _I've _forgiven myself yet for scaring her like that."

"Manny," Ellie stopped him from continuing "I get that you feel bad, but you needn't get so worked up about it! C'mon, you and Diego have been buddies for years, if Shira's okay with it he will be too! Don't freak out, it's all okay now. The villains are gone, and everyone's oka-" she remembered Raz and Shira "-well, no-one's dead at least."

"Okay, okay..." surrendered Manny "You're right, I'm over-reacting..."

"Yes," agreed Ellie "But you're only doing that because you care about your family, and there's nothing wrong with that."

"Thank-you Ellie," Manny replied gratefully, wrapping his trunk around her shoulders in a hug.

"Not a problem."

The two mammoths stood there a moment, just cuddling each-other and watching the sunset. Smiling, Ellie turned to Manny.

"Y'know, we oughtta get back. Peaches'll be worried," she stated. Manny nodded, before frowning.

"Hey, Ellie?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think... Louis and Peaches... have a... thing, for each-other?" Manny struggled to ask, concern in his voice. Ellie chuckled.

"No, I don't. If anything, Louis has a thing for Taz," she assured him.

"He does?" Manny sounded surprised. Ellie rolled her eyes.

"Duh! Have you ever seen the two interract? They both end up blushing red as a tomato!"

Manny thought for a moment, then nodded. "Oh yeah.. come to think of it, I have noticed that..."

Ellie rolled her eyes at her husband, before slipping out of his embrace and kissing him on the cheek.

"You're so silly sometimes, Manny..." she sighed.

"But you love that about me?" guessed Manny hopefully. She chuckled.

"Sure, why not."

Manny playfully pushed her with his trunk, which she returned, before linking their trunks again. As they started to walk back, Ellie looked up into Manny's brown eyes.

"I love you."

"I love you too," he said, smiling. Ellie was the best thing that had ever happened to him... he just wished she didn't have to get dragged into all the chaos so much.

**Sorry, I left you guys waiting ages and then gave you this short little thing. But hey, you Mellie lovers should be fairly happy, considering Mellie isn't a pairing I normally write for *shrugs* Anyways, next chapter is Dira and Laz... mostly, at least...**

**Thanks for reading and please review! :)**


	28. Dira' and 'Laz'

**Okay, before I forget, scoobs5601 helped me write like, the entire LouisxTaz thing in here, so special thanks to her :) Oh, and this chapter pretty much takes place during the last one. Taz, Dex and Bronson all belong to scoobs5601, and Rebecca and Diesel belong to Blumacaw13 :)**

Diego paced back and forth in front of Shira, causing her to sigh for the twentieth time. She was lying on the moss rock in their cave, the heavy home-made cast still weighing down her leg, with seven cubs huddled at her side.

"I'm sorry..." she muttered again. He turned to face her.

"Stop apologising, I'm not a parent lecturing my kid, I'm just telling my mate that she shouldn't have done something so risky!"

"Look, I know leading Rudy up to the surface was a bad, not-very-well-thought-through idea, but I was thinking on the spot, I didn't have a lot of choices!" Shira tried to reason with him. Diego walked forward so close that their noses were touching.

"Maybe so, but you didn't need to risk your life."

She could actually feel his hot breath on her face, but she tried to ignore it. "Actually, I did. My life was at risk the second I fell through the hole. Well, technically my life has been at risk for the past four months!"

Diego closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, which echoed in Shira's face. "Okay, I get that you've been in danger for a long time, but I still don't think it was necessary for you to allow a baryonyx to chase you up into our world."

"Diego, quit it!" she snapped. He leaned back slightly.

"Quit what?"

"Quit treating me like a cub! Quit making me feel so small and intimidated!" her eyes brimmed with tears. She'd missed Diego's comfort so much in the short amount of time they had been 'broken-up', but now they were together again, and he was being so unlike himself it scared her. "Why are you making such a big deal out of this?!"

Diego sighed, leaning in close again. His lips were mere millimetres from hers, which made her heart flutter for some reason. Before she knew what was going on, Diego had slammed his lips against hers, causing most of the cubs to gag. But neither Diego nor Shira noticed, because they were both too busy cherishing the kiss. It felt like they hadn't kissed properly in an age, but they knew that was just their imaginations.

When they finally pulled apart, both were grinning like crazy.

"I love you," Diego admitted. She smiled.

"I love you to-" Shira was stopped short by Diego's lips against hers once more. Once they stopped, Diego licked her cheek.

"My Kitty..." he said with a smile, hopping up on the rock beside her. She snuggled deep into his warm chest, licking his throat ever so gently.

"I don't even need to say it, do I?" she giggled. Diego rolled his eyes.

"I know, I know," Diego cleared his throat, then said in a mocking tone "Don't call you Kitty."

Smiling, Shira got herself comfortable against Diego, knowing she wasn't getting out of the cave anytime soon. They could hear the rest of the herd outside, enjoying themselves, and a single tear rolled down Shira's cheek and landed on Diego's paw.

He sighed. "You wanna get outta here, don't you?"

She nodded. "Yeah, but I don't care really..."

"Yes you do," Diego leaned down, positioning his lips by her ear "Kitty."

Instantly, Shira began to struggle, but Diego had a stern grip on her, keeping her in place. Besides, he knew she was kidding around. After a short while, she settled down again, and both sabres were still chuckling away quietly.

"So," she propped herself up to look him in the eye "What was up with all the over-protectiveness lately?"

Diego held his breath for a moment, then began slightly chewing her ear to calm down. Finally, he felt ready to speak. "Okay, you wanna know what's been going on? I came close to dying of starvation when I lost you, and I'm terrified I'll lose you again."

Shira's eyes widened; Diego almost died for her?! She could hear him calling her name softly, but it was distant, and her head was hurting. Her vision seemed to be blurring a little, until seven nursing cubs snapped her back to reality.

"Shira? You okay?" asked Diego worriedly, pressing his paw to her forehead, checking for a temperature. She nodded, batting his paw away.

"I'm fine, but I'm not convinced you are," Shira looked to her mate in concern, and noticed just how much skinnier he was than the last time she had seen him, before she got taken by Gutt.

Diego looked confused. "What do you mean?"

In answer, she pointed to his ribs, which could just be seen under his skin. Gently, he placed his lips on her forehead, trying to calm her. She snuggled up to him, and he realised that she was a lot thinner too.

Gutt hadn't been feeding her much on the ship anyway, and as a lot that had gone to her seven children, Shira had really lost a lot of weight, resulting in her becoming very thin. Worriedly, Diego licked her cheek, while running his paw down her back.

Knowing immediately what was up, Shira rolled her eyes. "I'm fine Diego, it's no big deal."

"Yes it is!" he insisted, hugging her "Look, here's an idea. When your leg's all healed, why don't we go hunting together?"

Shira's eyes lit up. "I'd love that!"

He smiled. "I thought you might. Now c'mon, go to sleep."

"Okay..." she sighed, burying her head in his chest. He ruffled her ears, smiling now that he knew he had his Kitty back for good.

* * *

Louis, Taz, Crash, Eddie, Peaches and Meghan were all hanging out in the clearing, messing about and generally having a good time. Crash and Eddie had been practising some trick that including firing themselves from trees, while the teens were talking. Meghan was telling a story, but Taz was distracted by the other possums.

Quietly, she sneaked away from the group, somehow slipping away without Louis seeing, which was odd because they had been sat next to each-other. She wasn't sure if they were even a couple yet, as they'd met in such an awkward situation... she was confused.

"Hey guys, what'cha doing?" she asked Crash and Eddie, clambering up beside them.

"Hi Taz," Eddie greeted her.

"We're gonna launch ourselves into the air and fly!" explained Crash.

"Like birds," clarified Eddie. Taz smiled.

"Sweet! Mind if I join ya?"

Both possums agreed that Taz could join in, so she began to help set-up. When they were done, Crash and Eddie went to hug Taz, but she stopped them.

"Not happening, but thanks for letting me help!" she told them.

"No problem," they said in unison.

"Wanna give it a try?" Crash offered.

"Me?" asked Taz, confused. Crash nodded.

"Yeah, you're a newbie to our experiments, so you should get to go first," Eddie nodded too.

Taz grinned. "Awesome! Thanks guys!"

"No worries," replied Crash, before Eddie tapped him on the shoulder.

"She does know that the last time we did this you got slammed into a tree, right?" whispered Eddie. Crash shrugged.

"Probably not, but oh well."

Meanwhile, Taz was scampering into the leaf slingshot that she had helped Crash and Eddie build. The twins pulled back on the contraption, stretching the flexible vines, before letting go, causing Taz to sail through the air.

"Taz? What're you doing?!" asked Peaches, looking up to see her newest friend flying overhead.

"Woo!" cheered Taz "I believe I can flyyyyyyy- oomph!"

Louis watched in horror as Taz crashed into a tree, before falling to the ground. "Oh my gosh Taz, are you okay?!" he asked frantically, running over to her and cradling her in his arms.

"Yeah, I'm fine..." she replied, blushing bright scarlet.

"Phew," sighed Louis "That's good."

"Yeah... great..." muttered Taz, still blushing like a fool.

"Aww, what's up? Why're you blushing?" Louis still had his arms around Taz, making her feel slightly light-headed.

"Blushing? I am? Oh, no reason..." Taz chewed her lip nervously.

"Uh, yeah... you are a little..." Louis informed her.

"Oh... uhm..." Taz tried to stop blushing.

Peaches smirked at her friend. "You know you're gonna have to tell him sometime, Taz."

"Gonna have to tell who what?" Louis sounded confused.

Taz's eyes widened. "Uh oh..."

Peaches grinned. "C'mon Taz, spill."

Taz gulped. "Uhm, Louis? I kinda have... something to tell you..." she scratched her neck awkwardly.

"It's okay Taz, you can tell me!" Louis reassured her, stroking her arm.

"Uhm, Peach?" Meghan spoke up "You know it's kinda your fault she has to tell him, right?"

Peaches shrugged. "Meh, she'll thank me for it later."

Louis was getting worried. "Seriously, what's up?"

Taz leaned forward and whispered in Louis's ear.

"This oughta be good...!" whispered Peaches with a grin, before Meghan playfully punched her friend in the shoulder.

"Uhm, I, uhm..." Louis couldn't stop his eyes widening in surprise.

"I'm sorry. I just couldn't live with myself any longer without admitting my feelings for you," confessed Taz, struggling not to cry.

"Taz, Taz, it's okay!" Louis promised her, pulling her in for a hug "I feel the same way."

"You do?!" exclaimed Taz, with wide eyes.

"Of course!" chuckled Louis, hugging her tight.

Taz hugged him back, just as tight. "I love you Louis," she murmured "You're one in a million."

"I love you too," Louis smiled, kissing her on the forehead. Taz smiled and blushed, before nuzzling his neck. In return, Louis squeezed her extra-tight, pressing his lips softly against her cheek. Sighing happily, Taz kissed him back. Very gently, Louis lay his head over hers.

"Hey, Louis?" Taz sat up slightly "I was wondering... when did you first like me in... y'know, 'that' way?"

"Uhm... I don't know for certain..." he admitted "But you looked so beautiful when I first saw you, with the dying light of the fire, and... what about you? When did you first like me?"

"Me, beautiful?" Taz grinned "Only a true love would say that and mean it. When did I first start like liking you? Well... I sort of had a little crush on you when we first met, and... I guess it kind of evolved once I realised how perfect you are," she leaned up and kissed him again.

"Thanks Taz... and you are very, very pretty. Anyone who would think otherwise is crazy," Louis ran his paw down her cheek, before slipping his arms around her once again "I love you so much."

Taz blushed and smiled. "I love you too. More than anyone could ever begin to imagine."

As her fringe flopped in front of her eye, Louis stroked it back, causing her to blush even redder. Taz stroked his hair, resisting the urge to cry with happiness. She'd finally found someone who truly loved her, unlike her family.

Leaving one arm wrapped around her neck, Louis sat back slightly. "Y'know, you really are something special Taz..."

"Thanks, handsome," giggled Taz "So are you."

"Oh, Taz, you're too nice. I'm not that handsome at all.." Louis blushed and kissed her.

Taz gently pulled away. "Don't put yourself down, baby..." she sighed softly, nuzzling his neck. He nuzzled her back.

"Thanks, sweetie..." Louis ruffled her hair.

"Hey, no ruffling up the Taz do!" Taz warned him jokingly, flattening her hair.

Louis held up his hands defensively. "Okay, okay, I get it. Hair's off limits. Can I be forgiven?" he asked, widening his eyes adorably.

"Course you can!" said Taz with a smile, as she melted under the cute gaze.

"Good. Now come here," he instructed, pulling her in close and kissing her cheek again. Taz giggled and kissed him back.

"Oh my little Tasmin..." he sighed lovingly, squeezing her tight. Crash and Eddie started making pukey faces.

"GROSS!" the complained, dry-heaving. Peaches glared as Meghan rolled her eyes. Trust the possum twins to ruin the moment...

**Hey, there's a nice long scene for the Laz lovers out there :) Hopefully will update soon! Should be BuckxDiesel and MikaylaxOscar next, hope you likes! Thanks for reading and please review! xD**


	29. Duck' and 'Moscar'

**Alright, I am incredibly sorry about the wait! I've had two French tests in the past week, a History assessment not long before that, _and _I keep getting dang homework! Hopefully won't happen again!**

**So, like I said, BuckxDiesel and MikaylaxOscar in this chappie! :) Diesel and Rebecca belong to Blumacaw13, Taz, Dex and Bronson belong to scoobs5601, you know the drill by now. Still taking place during the last few chapters, Rudy hasn't just been sitting there without causing commotion, lol.**

**Oh, and Money 100? Of course we're friends! :) Ah, I know how you feel, school is kinda like that with me too. I guess I have friends but they fight like fudge. **

Diesel leaned against a tree, arms folded, watching Buck and Rudy. Buck was scampering around the dino, as Rudy tried to catch him, but they both kind of looked like they were kidding around. She was confused, but didn't question it. Every time she'd run into Rudy she had been convinced he was a killing machine, but now he was practically playing tag with a weasel, both looking like they'd inhaled too many fumes from the Chasm of Death.

"I'll never understand boys..." she sighed, sitting on one of the tree's roots.

"_Oui_," she looked up to see Silas on a branch overhead "But you m_ademoiselles _have many confusing ways of your own."

Diesel raised an eyebrow. "Like?"

"W-well, u-uhm..." Silas struggled to speak under her intense glare "Ze way you can instantly make ze toughest guy in ze world crumble with one stare!"

Diesel chuckled, before picking a small flower out of the grass and pulling off the petals one by one. _I'd have a chance, I'd never have a chance, I'd have a chance, I'd never have a chance, _she repeated in her head as she pulled the petals off, letting them float to the ground. After a few minutes, she got to the last one. _I'd have a chance._

She plucked the last petal off, cupped it in her paws, kissed it quickly and lightly for luck, then blew it into the wind. Grasping the bare stalk of the plant in one paw, Diesel got to her feet and cautiously padded closer to Rudy and Buck.

"YEE-HAW! I gotcha now, ya collosal fossil!" cried Buck, grabbing a vine and tying it around Rudy, but loosely, so that he could escape somewhat easily. Rudy stretched his arms, and the vine snapped. "Darn," muttered Buck jokingly.

"Need a hand?" asked Diesel, appearing beside him, sturdier vine in hand, already looped around Rudy's legs a few times. Buck seemed surprised, yet impressed.

"Alright, mate," he replied, offering his paw to Diesel, who took it gratefully. He pulled her up onto Rudy's head, where they high-pawed, before Diesel flung herself off, thrusting herself forwards to get enough momentum to wrap the vines tightly around the baryonyx. Since the same vine was wrapped around his feet, Rudy found himself falling towards the ground.

Buck leapt off fast, doing a flip in mid-air, sticking the landing on a nearby branch. Diesel, on the other hand, had her arm caught in the vine, and was unable to get free, so she had to go along for the ride. Buck, noticing this, felt his heart skip a beat. That fall could kill a weasel, he knew that much. And despite having just met her, he couldn't just let Diesel die. So he retrieved a vine from the tree, tied it around his waist, tightened his grip on his knife, and jumped.

He sailed through the air towards a very frightened Diesel, before grabbing her and pulling her close. To keep her safe, of course. He struggled to cut the knife connecting Diesel to the falling Rudy, but it was hard as he was doing it one-handed and anyway, they were suspended in mid-air! It's very hard to control a knife when you're plummeting to the ground!

Buck did manage to cut a vine... unfortunately it was the wrong one. He managed to disconnect the vine keeping him attached to the tree, leaving him and Diesel both falling. To make matters worse, the knife slipped and cut the vine tied to Diesel's arm, so they were free-falling, detached from anything that could've stopped the fall.

"We're gonna die!" screamed Diesel, clinging to Buck. She was normally cool and collected, but being in such a situation had really left her terrified.

Buck couldn't tell her they weren't, because he wasn't sure, but he could try and calm her down. "Shush, shush..." he soothed, holding her close, feeling her terror running through his own veins. He looked down at her, right as she looked up at him. They're eyes met, and Buck's heart leapt again. Suddenly, in a random burst of emotion, he squeezed her tighter.

"Don't you worry," he whispered sweetly in her ear "I won't let you get hurt."

As the ground approached, Buck flipped over, so that Diesel was above him, and he'd hit the ground first. Diesel, who had her eyes firmly shut, didn't notice, so didn't protest. Thinking he was about to die, Buck kissed her on the head, right before they hit the ground.

* * *

Diesel sat up groggily, holding a paw to her head, which was throbbing painfully.

"What's going on? What's happening?" she felt something beneath her "What am I sitting on?"

She looked down, and was horrified to see Buck below her, unconscious and battered.

"Buck!" she exclaimed, about to jump up, but she was stopped by Buck's arm, still wrapped loosely around her torso. Suddenly, she realised. "Oh my gosh... Buck, you- you... saved, me..."

She felt her whole body shaking with sobs as she slipped out of Buck's limp arms, before hurriedly checking for a pulse. Thankfully she found one, but it was weak. Leaning over and placing her ear near his mouth, Diesel discovered his breathing wasn't good either.

Pushing her hysteria down to the deepest corner of her mind, Diesel positioned her paws in the centre of Buck's chest, before performing thirty chest compressions. Once she was done, she tilted his head back, pinched his nose, and gave him two rescue breaths. It felt awkward having her mouth against his, but she knew it would be worth it when he woke up. And anyway, it's not like she didn't enjoy it...

She repeated this process several times, unwilling to let Buck die on her. When his breathing finally returned to normal, she folded him into the recovery position, and hurried to find things to heal his wounds.

Soon after, she returned with soft leaves, the ingredients for an anti-infection herbal concoction, Lotus berries to numb the pain, and a small hollow rock filled with sweet juice from a fruit of some sort, for when he woke up. Rudy had also been knocked out during the fall, but he was a baryonyx, he could handle himself.

Diesel set the stuff down, then proceeded to splash cool water from the nearby pond over his cuts. Next, she mixed the ingerdients together and created the herbal mix, which she rubbed into his injuries, after soaking them in Lotus berry juice. Finally, she wrapped him in the soft leaves, tearing strips from the half-destroyed vine next to her to fasten them in place.

Then, all she could do was sit beside him and make sure he stayed alive. Luckily, he didn't take long to awake, which was good, because Diesel's heart was hammering in her chest with the worry of not knowing whether he would be okay.

"Buck!" she gasped, joy flooding her system "You're okay!"

He smiled. "Yeah, I guess I am... wonder why..."

"Well..." Diesel blushed crimson "Uhm, I... uhm..."

"M'kay..." Buck suddenly remembered something "Hey, ya don't happen to remember anything before we hit, right?"

Diesel thought for a moment, then shook her head. "No. Why?"

"Nothing," he answered quickly, before noticing the leaves he was covered in "What's with the leaves?"

"Oh, I just didn't want your cuts to get infected," explained Diesel, retrieving the hollow stone "Here, drink this."

Trusting her, Buck took the stone and sipped at the drink, before smiling. "Mm, not bad. What didja put in this?"

"Nothing," she shrugged "It's just fruit juice."

"No..." Buck put down the stone and licked his lips "I can taste... something cherry-ish..."

Diesel's eyes widened as she remembered how her and her sister, Emily, used to put cherry juice on their lips because they thought it would make them softer and prettier. Come to think of it, she breifly remembered putting some on back in Dinotopia not long before she met Shira and Silas... uh-oh.

As Buck looked up and saw Diesel blushing and covering her mouth with one paw, it hit him. They both blushed deeply, Diese standing awkwardly and Buck trying to avoid her gaze, until Rudy, now conscious, swung his tail and sent Diesel flying into Buck. Their lips touched, and neither pulled away.

"Mm, cherries," mumbled Buck, after they pulled apart, earning him a punch in the shoulder from Diesel.

"Now your just trying to embarress me!" she protested, causing Buck to laugh.

"Yeah, kinda. Almost as much fun as battling Rudy!"

Both of them laughed at that, before Diesel snuggled into Buck. Rudy, next to them, smiled slightly, glad that his one-eyed friend finally found someone to care for.

* * *

Mikayla sat in the long grass, watching Kate play, when Oscar walked up behind her.

"H-hey," he managed, trying to keep the nerves out of his voice. _What is my problem?, _he thought, _Why am I getting so freaked out about talking to her? And how come I couldn't think of anything better to say than 'hey'?_

"Hi," Mikayla snapped him out of his trance.

"So..." Oscar struggled to think of something decent to say. _So...?, _he mentally berated himself, _That was your big line? You idiot!_

"Uhm... what, er... do you, think of the, I mean, your, new home, then?" attempted Mikayla, blushing under her orange fur. For some reason she was just as nervous as him.

"It's, nice... prettier, than the old one..." he quickly added in his head, _'Specially coz you're here_.

"Yeah... it's a really nice clearing," agreed Mikayla, looking over to Kate again. "She's such a cute kid..." she sighed gently, "Poor thing... all alone now..."

"What do you mean?" asked Oscar, who didn't stutter for once, but was too curious to notice.

"I overheard Izzy explaining Kate's story to Squint," sighed Mikayla "She lost her mother when she was pretty young, and Izzy was all she had left."

"Poor thing..." Oscar mused. Mikayla nodded.

"I just wish I could do something for her... give her a new home, maybe..."

"Yeah..."

Suddenly, they both had the same idea. "Adoption!" they exclaimed at the same time, before turning away and blushing deeply. There was a moment of awkward silence between the pair, as neither could think of anything to say, and frankly they were both incredibly embarressed.

"So..." Mikayla cringed at how stupid she sounded. She wanted to question Oscar about what he'd said when he was killing Gutt in revenge for making her cry, but she didn't want to make things too awkward between her and Oscar. "W-what did you mean earlier? When you were killing the monkey guy? Y'know, about making me cry..."

Mentally, Oscar slapped himself in the face. "Uhm, I, uhm..." he took a deep breath "Look, I haven't known you that long, Mikayla, but I think I, uhm, I think I might, er..."

"Oscar. Just spit it out," she commanded gently.

He steeled himself. "I think I might love you."

Mikayla thought she could actually hear her heart stop beating and her breath catch in her throat. She had to focus her eyes on little Kate to stay conscious. She'd never been loved by anyone before, especially not her old pack, which was why she was so desperate for Diego to like her. Because she figured that, as she'd saved him from drowning, he'd have to be nice and kind to her the way she had been to him when she rescued him.

"M-Mikayla?" Oscar tried to stop his fear and sadness from crawling up into his voice "Y'know what, j-just forget I said anything... I'll just get going then..."

"No," she stood up "I'm sorry it just... took me by surprise. I-I... think I might love you too," she admitted sheepishly. They both went red. Their moment was interrupted by a small mountain lion cub by the name of Kate.

"Aww! How cute! Mikayla and Ozzy-" Mikayla smirked at Kate's nickname for Oscar "-are in _love_!"

Mikayla rolled her eyes. "Y'know, for such a little kid, you sure are good at taunting."

"And eavesdropping," added Oscar. Kate smiled, then gestured to Izabella with one paw.

"I learned from the best," she explained, cheerily.

The trio all began to laugh gently, Mikayla pulling Kate in close and ruffling the fur on her head. For a second, it was as if they were one big family. Kate closed her eyes and smiled as wide as her little mouth would allow, finally glad to have mother and father figures in her life again. As she did this, Oscar quickly leaned in and licked Mikayla's ear.

In that moment, Mikayla felt something warm in her heart, something she would call love, and she realised just how wrong she had been when she chased after Diego so frantically. Shira truly loved him, the way she know felt about Oscar, and she decided she owed the silver sabre an apology.

Kate grinned. "I love you guys..." she whispered softly.

"We love you too, Katie," Mikayla and Oscar said in unison, when Kate yawned.

Oscar chuckled. "I think it might be time for a nap, kid-a-roo," he suggested, but she shook her head firmly.

"I'm not tired!"

"Yeah ya are, Kate, c'mon, you'll be falling asleep during the party later if you don't get some rest!" Mikayla tried to persuade her, with Oscar nodding along.

"She's right, little 'un."

"But Mom, Dad, I-" Kate started to whine, before cutting herself off when she realised what she'd said "Uhm, I, uhm..."

"No, don't worry," Mikayla kissed Kate's ears "Mom and Dad... I kinda like the sound of that..."

Oscar nodded. "So do I."

Mikayla looked up into Oscar's hazel eyes, as he glanced down into her slightly darker pair. He leaned in, but Mikayla quickly pressed a claw to his lips to stop him, covered Kate's eyes with one foreleg, before leaning in and touching her lips to his. Unknown to them both, Kate slipped away from Mikayla's paw, took one look at the couple... and dry-heaved.

**So... what didja think? Good? Bad? Worth the wait? M'kay, so not really, but oh well.**

**I think there will only be about three chapters left, including the Epilogue, if it plays out like I've planned. If not, then I got no idea.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading and please review! Oh, and in case you didn't know (lol, love that song), I have a poll up on my profile page regarding what people want me to start/do after A Second Chance is finished, so I would be very grateful if you could please have a look and vote :)**


	30. Pirates: Old and New

**Okeyz, two things. One, this chapter, as the title suggests, focuses mostly (if not totally) on the pirates, and second thing, I came up with a cool idea for a Hunger Games fanfic I'm considering... would any of you guys be into that? Of course, I'm planning to finish off every Ice Age fic I've started beforehand, so don't worry about stories like this getting shoved to the side.**

**Money 100? You got an account? Cool! K'so, you know the page that comes up when you first log in? Well, go to Publish on the options, click New Story, then follow the instructions from there. Assuming, of course, that your story is already in Documents. If you want I can PM you the details if you've got an account now :)**

**Disclaimer: Rebecca and Diesel both belong to Blumacaw13, whereas Taz, Dex and Bronson belong to scoobs5601**

**I hope you enjoy! :D BTW, sorry about all the flashbacks.**

Rebecca curled her knees to her chest, scrubbing harshly at her eyes to remove all traces of unwanted tears. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning, she saw Lauren stood holding a large leaf.

"Need this?" the molehog asked softly, offering the leaf to Rebecca.

Still sniffling, she managed a smile. "Thanks, Laur."

"Not a problem," Lauren knelt beside Rebecca and squeezed her shoulders "What's the matter? Why're you cry- I mean, uhm…"

"Don't worry," she interrupted "I admit it, I'm crying, I'm a loser."

Lauren shook her head. "No, you're not. Everybody cries. That doesn't make you lame or a loser. It just makes you a mammal. Or an animal. Whichever you prefer. Point being, there's nothing wrong with showing emotions sometimes!"

Rebecca sighed. "Okay, okay, no lecture needed, Lauren!"

"Jeez, you honestly don't have a censor do you?" taunted Lauren playfully, to which Rebecca shook her head.

"Nope, never have, never will."

Lauren rolled her eyes. "M'kay so, what _is _wrong?"

Rebecca pressed her back against the tree-trunk she had been crying into moments ago, taking a deep breath through her nose and releasing it through her lungs, before crossing her arms over her chest and replying.

"Look, Gutt was my best friend when we were kids, but ages ago he left me for no reason. For years everybody in the village came up with stories that were weird, wacky and awful about what might've happened to him, and eventually I just couldn't take it."

Lauren wrapped her ferret friend into a hug. "What happened? What did you do?"

Shuffling out of the hug, as she wasn't comfortable with physical contact, Rebecca continued. "I left. I ran away from home. For seven whole years, I searched the world for Gutt, and at long last, I found him. I found him in a dreadful state, but it was still him. With the help of several other misfits, I cured him. We plotted and planned against the evil, traitorous crew that had hurt him like that, and we gathered a large group to help us carry out our plans. During this, we met you."

"Yeah, I remember…" sighed Lauren. "That was one weird day…"

Rebecca smiled. "Uh-huh…"

_Flashback – Normal POV_

_A small brown ferret with blue eyes watched as her oldest friend staggered over to the large rock he was supposed to rest on for a while._

_He had received a long, quite deep, gash on his back, and had almost lost his life from blood loss. It all would've been over for him if Rebecca hadn't spotted him while riding on Jasper the narwhal's back._

_A kind rabbit doe named Izabella that Rebecca had encountered on land while she was building sand castles with a mountain lion cub, which Rebecca had thought strange but not commented on, had offered to help heal Gutt._

_With some persuasion, Rebecca agreed to trust this female and allowed her to mix a herbal concoction that would heal the injured ape._

_Kate, the mountain lion cub, wandered off into the forest, and as Izzy was busy with Gutt, Rebecca decided to spare the doe the increased pulse and find Kate herself. It didn't take long, as the cub had quickly got distracted by a dirt trail in the ground. She was poking and prodding away at it with her developing claws._

_"Pity the poor sod down there…" mumbled Rebecca, but it was apparently louder than she thought._

_"Muchas gracias," replied a Spanish female's voice from underground "Now, if you wouldn't mind helping me out here…?"_

_Nodding even though the unknown girl couldn't see her, Rebecca scrambled towards Kate, ushered the cub away from the dirt trail, and reached a paw down to help whoever it was out._

_A paw clasped around hers, and Rebecca pulled a female molehog out of the ground. The girl had light brown hair, dark, smokey eyes, and a sweet feminine smile._

_"As I said earlier, thank you very much," the molehog replied sheepishly._

_"Oh, that's what you said. I didn't catch it at the time," explained Rebecca. The molehog chuckled._

_"Well yes, it was in Spanish."_

_"Oh right… that's probably why then…" muttered Rebecca, embarrassed. She smiled._

_"Don't worry," she held out one paw "I'm Lauren. And you are?"_

_"Rebecca," answered the ferret, gripping Lauren's paw in a firm handshake. "So, got a family? Home?"_

_"Nope," replied Lauren "No home for me, or family. You?"_

_"Uhm…" Rebecca didn't know whether or not to call her little crew a 'family' or not "Kinda. Hey, wanna come back with me? And the little energy ball over there?"_

_Kate looked up from the butterfly she had been chasing. Lauren looked hesitant._

_"A-are you sure you want me to…?"_

_"Yeah, why not?" Rebecca shrugged. A wide smiled broke out over the molehog's face._

_"Muchas gracias, amigo!" exclaimed Lauren in happiness. Upon seeing Rebecca's confused face, she added "That means 'Thank you very much, friend' in Spanish."_

**_That night_**

_Rebecca trudged through the undergrowth, Lauren tunnelling in front of her. As the crew were new to the island, and Lauren had been there a while, the molehog volunteered to give Rebecca a miniature tour of the immediate area._

_Out of the corner of her eye, Rebecca spotted a plant with several weir-looking berries on it. Walking over, she reached out and turned one over in her paws._

_"Oy, Diggy," she called, referring to Lauren and her digging habits. The molehog's head popped up from underground._

_"Sí?"_

_"These toxic?" inquired Rebecca, tossing one of the smallest berries to Lauren, who caught it agilely. She sniffed it for a moment, broke the skin with her claws, inspected the dribble of juice that fell to the ground, and eventually shook her head._

_"Nope, not toxic, completely safe to eat."_

_"Awesome…" muttered Rebecca, plucking another off the plant and stuffing it into her mouth. She found it was very chewy, but she really liked it for some reason. For one thing it occupied her mouth. _

_As Lauren tunnelled on, Rebecca snatched a few more berries from the plant and followed the dirt trail. Suddenly, they came to a clearing. A gazelle was stood in the centre, surrounded by four sabres. _

_"Kenzie!" she screamed "KENZIE! HELP!"_

_One of the sabres chuckled evilly. "None of your little deer friends are gonna help ya now, venison!" he spat. She rolled her eyes, trying to appear over-confident._

_"She's a gazelle, not a deer, morons!" came a voice. A female Lynx landed in front of the gazelle, in a protective stance._

_"First of all, thank-you, and second of all, well done!" the gazelle grinned at the Lynx, who returned the gesture._

_"Sorry I was late, bit of traffic on the way," she joked, which only irritated the sabres further._

_"You must be Kenzie," hissed the leader of the small pack. He was covered in various fading scars, and he had the slightest limp, implying he was a casualty in a fierce battle long ago._

_"Yeah, and this is Alex, my best bud," Kenzie shrugged. "Who're you?"_

_"Soto," replied the leader harshly. "And these are Oscar, Lenny and Zeke."_

_"Uhm, hello?" Alex attempted to be nice. Zeke growled._

_"Can we maul 'er? Can we maul 'er? Can we maul 'er? I wanna maul 'er!" he whined. _

_"Oh my gosh…" Lauren whispered to Rebecca "That guy has serious problems."_

_"Uh-huh," Rebecca nodded. Suddenly, Izzy scurried up to them, catching the unwanted attention of those in the field. _

_"Rebecca, Lauren, Gutt wants you two back at base, A-SAP!" she informed them, unaware of the eyes watching her from behind._

_"Uhm, Izabella…?" Lauren tried to warn her, but she kept on blabbering._

_"Izzy!" snapped Rebecca._

_"Sorry, but he wants to get started on the revenge plan. He knows he wants to kill that traitor First Mate of his, whatever her name was, and that Diego sabre, but he doesn't know-"_

_"Wait," everyone turned to Soto "Did you say Diego?"_

_"Yeah…"_

_"Is he an orange sabre with long canines?" questioned Soto. Izzy wasn't sure._

_"Well, I haven't seen him, but I think so. Why?"_

_Soto looked to his pack for a minute, and then turned back to the three small animals. "How about we join you in this attack? We have our own bone to pick with Diego…"_

_Rebecca looked to Izzy and Lauren for help, but both pretended to be utterly fascinated with the particles in the air, looking this way and that, doing everything possible to avoid Rebecca's eyes. Finally, she shrugged._

_"Guess so. If the boss don't mind."_

_"Could we come?" asked Kenzie "We could use a bit of protection…"_

_Rebecca didn't even bother trying to get help from her friends this time; she knew she was on her own for this. "Well, why? What use would you be to us?"_

_"We can fight," said Alex hopefully, eyes wide with pleading. Rebecca shrugged again._

_"Whatever. But I can't promise you'll be safe from the carnivores, gazelle."_

_Alex seemed worried, until Kenzie nudged her. "Don't worry, I can," she promised. Rebecca rolled her eyes, and tapped Lauren on the shoulder._

_"Yo, tour guide," the molehog whipped around to meet Rebecca's gaze "Show us how to get back, wouldja?"_

_Lauren nodded. "*Spanish word for yes*, follow me."_

_End Flashback_

Both chuckled as they thought back on that day.

"What a weird day that was…" giggled Lauren.

"Yep," agreed Rebecca. "I just… can't believe Gutt changed so much. I mean, when we were kids, sure he was one of the more violent kids, and he always had to be the captain when we played pirates, which was all the time, but…"

"I know," Lauren took Rebecca's paws in her own "You are upset because he is no longer what he once was. But you need to move on; you deserve better than him."

"Thank you, Lauren."

* * *

Dex the wolverine and Bronson the musk-ox were standing together, discussing everything that had happened in the past few days, when Squint came up, dragging Izzy by the paw.

"Uh-oh…" muttered Dex, recognising Izzy and Squint.

"How dare you?!" snapped Squint "How dare you-" he pointed at Dex "-just stand by when an innocent life could've been lost!"

Dex sighed, feeling the slightest bit of guilt for the first time since he could remember.

_Flashback_

_A young Shira lay on the deck of an ice ship (not one of Gutt's though), a cut on her side bleeding into her fur. A honey coloured rabbit with dazzling lime eyes hurried to her side, despite Squint's shouting of various warnings._

_A wolverine stood over the sabre, that same smirk on his face. A mammoth moved to where Squint's younger sister was tending to Shira's wounds. Shira protested, knowing she would survive just fine, but the doe persistently tried to heal the tiger._

_The mammoth lifted her, carrying her to the very edge of the ship, before he let go._

_End Flashback_

Izzy gasped. "That was you? Dex? It was you who hurt Shira?!"

He lowered his head. "Yes…"

"Y-you… and you never told me? Never apologised?"

"Apologies aren't my thing," Dex was biting back his temper at this point; he didn't like it when things didn't go his way. Sensing this, Bronson tried to help.

"Yeah, he never says he's sorry. Once when we were kids on the ship he puked on one of the crew members because he was seasick and then-"

"Bronson!" snapped Dex, not wanting to be embarrassed in front of Squint and Izzy, who now wore her signature smug smirk.

"No words needed," she stated, flipping her long ears back over her head. Dex growled, but suppressed his anger for the moment.

"Look, Squint, if you'd been in my position, would you have been able to stand up to Gutt?" he asked. Squint closed his eyes because he knew the wolverine was right; it's very hard to stand up to a powerful captain.

"Okay, okay…" he sighed "I guess it's unfair to blame you for something your captain did. But if you hadn't hurt Shira than Izzy wouldn't have run in to help her, so the captain wouldn't have got her."

"I know," admitted Dex "But it was an order. And anyway, he would've probably just tried to throw Shira overboard instead, which would've been worse, coz she's scared of water and-"

"For the record," Izzy butted in "I'd like to point out that at the time I was fairly afraid of water too!"

Squint slung his arm around his little sister's shoulders, then gave a faint smile. "It's okay, I get it. I was just kinda blinded by my grief, I think… I kinda went a little crazy afterward…"

"A little?" the four turned to see Boris stood there "Squint, you went absolutely mental!"

"Details, details…" he tried to dismiss the subject, but Izzy wasn't having it.

"How mental?" she inquired, with an evil grin. Despite Squint's signalling of 'no, no, stop!', Boris continued.

"Well, he went a little demented, always wanting to slice and dice pretty much everything… once, he even-"

"Boris!" shouted Squint "Stop it!"

"Actually, it's Dobson. You know Gutt changed it to Boris!" he corrected.

"Ugh, Dobson, Boris, whatever! Just stop embarrassing me in front of my sister!"

He smirked evilly. "No, I'm good. Anyway, Izzy, feel like taking an embarrass-ya-brother-walk with me?"

"Do I ever?!" she exclaimed, excitedly clambering onto his head, resting her feet on his snout and holding his ears "M'kay, tell me _everything_!"

Boris nodded, and walked off. "Sure, where do you wanna start?"

"Uhm…" Izzy chewed her lip, before replying "Why don't we start with the first time? No, the funniest! No, the wackiest! No, the-"

Boris chuckled. "I'll go with the first one. Okay, we were docking on an island…"

Squint watched until he couldn't see or hear them anymore, frozen in utter disbelief. He gestured to Dex and Bronson in astonishment, clearly confused as to whether or not that seriously just happened. Realizing it had, he growled and ran after them, leaving Dex and Bronson alone to be confused.

* * *

Holding a vine in his mouth, Silas flew back towards the other side of the cave. The vine was wrapped around a rock, and he was moving it so that Gupta's leg was more comfortable. The injured badger had been set up inside the same cave as Raz, and Shira was hopefully to be moved there that night by Ellie and Manny, who could lift and carry her without jostling her wounded leg thanks to their trunks.

Raz groaned in pain, clutching her pouch, or trying to, but the thick moss padding made it difficult.

"Ugh, this bleedin' moss is stoppin' me gettin' ta mah pouch!" she complained. Silas rolled his eyes.

"Zat is ze point, _soeur_," he told her. "It means zat you can't get it infected."

Raz muttered something inaudible, but Silas was kind of glad he couldn't hear it; he had a feeling it wasn't something pleasant.

"Why must you complain so? Gupta has not said a word zis whole time!"

"Gupta ain't conscious, Sil," she pointed out, indicating to the sleeping badger. This time it was Silas's turn to utter something unpleasant. Smirking triumphantly, Raz closed her eyes and sipped at the turtleshell full of water that was lying next to her.

As Silas finished securing the vine, Gupta stirred and tried to sit up. "Vhat's going on?"

"Nothin' Gup, jus' go back ta sleep," Raz answered to save Silas the trouble, her eyes still remaining closed.

"Medicine time!" chimed Flynn happily, bouncing into the cave with two hollow rocks of liquid. Golden eyes open, Raz reached out and gingerly took the medicine, taking small sips because she didn't like the taste much.

Personally, she preferred Squint being in charge of medicine, as he added a little bit of sweet fruit juice from the fruit none of them could identify, but Alex wasn't bad at it. If Raz recalled correctly, Kenzie and Ashling were helping her by gathering ingredients and finding bandages.

"Y'know, this medicine isn't as bad as I thought," commented Gupta.

"I'm sure Alex will appreciate that!" laughed a voice from outside the cave. They turned to see Hollie the Hummingbird fluttering at the entrance.

"Hi!" Flynn greeted her.

"Hey," she replied "Jasper sent me down. He wanted to suggest a campfire party down by the waterfall tomorrow night. You guys up for that?"

"Sounds cool, but zese two will not be able to attend as zey cannot move, and neither can Shira, ze sabre girl," explained Silas, knowing that Hollie probably wouldn't know the herd yet.

"Oh, right…" Hollie mentally slapped herself. "I hadn't thought of that…"

"S'okay, ev'ryone makes mistakes, Hollie," Raz consoled her "Hey, can't Jasper jus' swim up the river ta the lil' pond nearby?"

Hollie shook her head. "No, he wants to stay at the waterfall for some reason. Oh well…"

"Guys!" Peaches hurried into the cave, Meghan at her side and the possum twins on her head. They'd left Louis and Taz outside to cuddle and 'be adorable', as Peaches had put it. "Dad says, that since everything's been so scary and tense lately, that we can have a campfire party tonight!"

"It's gonna be awesome!" added Meghan "Think karaoke, tasty food, juicy gossip and family fun time!"

Everybody else laughed, but Raz had to suppress her laughter as it would hurt her wounded stomach.

"And we're gonna have it right here in front of the cave," Eddie shoved Crash down to the ground to pat the ground to illustrate his point "So you guys can be involved!"

"Vow, sounds great!" said Gupta, smiling. There were various murmurs of agreement from the others, causing Peaches to grin.

"So… I'll tell Dad we're all in for tonight?"

"You betcha," Hollie finally spoke when the others didn't. Peaches exited the cave, Crash and Meghan following her, Eddie on her head.

_Tonight is gonna rock._

**Okay, hope you enjoyed :) Should be updating soon, have the next chapter started off already. **

**Second to last official chapter done :( But there's still the next chapter, and the Epilogue to look forward to... *tries to hide tears***

**Thanks for reading and please review! :)**


	31. A Second Chance

**Firstly, OH DEAR FUDGE I AM SO SORRY I MADE YOU GUYS WAIT SO LONG! See, we've had a load of tests lately, _and _I was off for ONE DAY at school and I missed a Science test, a Textiles lesson where we learned like, THE most crucial skill for this year, _and _a somewhat important Religious Studies lesson. So clearly, I have had a lot to catch up on. And in English we have been doing Titanic, and we have the big assessment for that coming up too, so idk when the Epilogue's gonna get posted, just hang in there. **

**Second, y'know last chapter when Lauren was speaking Spanish but it just said "*insert Spanish word*"? Well, that was a typo. I wrote it when I had no internet and didn't know how to spell it, and as I had no Wi-Fi I couldn't check. I meant to change it and forgot. Apologies. I've fixed it now :)**

**By the way, sorry in advance for how I've done the song, I just didn't know how to do it for so many characters in my preferred style.**

**Disclaimer: Taz, Dex and Bronson all belong to scoobs5601, and Rebecca and Diesel belong to Blumacaw13.**

"Shira?" Ellie's gentle voice woke her from her sleep.

"Huh…? Oh, yeah, hi Ells," Shira lifted her head weakly, knowing that she wasn't allowed to sit up because of the heavy cast on her back leg.

The mammoth ruffled the black fur on Shira's head. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah, I guess…" she shrugged. "So, what's up? Where are Diego and the cubs?"

"Outside," answered Ellie "And I am here to take you to the party."

"Party?" questioned Shira.

"Campfire party," Ellie clarified "Me and Manny are supposed to bring you down, and then afterwards you, Diego and the kids can move into the pirates cave until you're healed up."

She smiled wide. "Great!"

"Yeah, just don't move, okay?" Manny instructed, entering the cave and standing beside Ellie. Shira nodded firmly, and the two mammoths carefully lifted and carried her outside. Peaches and Meghan rushed in after them, to roll the smooth rock that the sabres slept on into their new temporary home.

Shira was set down carefully on her bed, and Ellie draped a blanket stitched from leaves over the silver sabretooth.

"Hey Kitty," Diego greeted her, walking in with his back piled high with cubs. "Guess what?"

"What?!" she asked eagerly, smiling.

"Earlier- well, Ranger, show your Mommy what you learned."

Ranger smirked. "Dwanger!" he spoke proudly, chest puffed out. Shira's eyes widened.

"He learned to speak?!" she gasped "Oh honey, I'm so proud of you!"

She pulled him in for a cuddle, and he didn't object. Suddenly, Squint trotted in, Izzy and Boris following.

"Dwanger! Dwanger!" repeated Ranger, pointing directly at Squint.

"What?!" Squint held out his arms in despair "The first time I hear him speak he insults me?!"

Shira shrugged. "He never did like you, bro."

"Why?!" he whined "I've been so nice to him! I _delivered him _for Pete's sake!"

"Simmer down, Squint, ranting isn't going to help," Izzy calmed him, stroking his arm to try and relax him a little, without much luck.

Suddenly, Raz clapped her hands. "Hi Sheila, ya've came!"

"Yep, glad to see me?" she asked jokingly.

"Duh!" retaliated Raz "Ah was so worried 'bout ya!"

"I was worried about you too, Razzy! I was so scared that you hadn't made it…"

"Uhm, don't you zink one of us would've told you if she hadn't made it?" pointed out Silas cleverly.

"Smart Alec…" mumbled Shira. "Anyway, where are the others?"

"On their way," confirmed Peaches, bouncing into the cave "They should be here soon."

Just as she finished her sentence, Louis and Taz came in. Crash and Eddie, who were still riding on Peaches' head, smirked, causing Louis to quickly retract his arm from where it had been lying around Taz's shoulders. Peaches slapped both possums with her trunk for ruining the moment. Hard.

While everyone was distracted by Peaches hurting Crash and Eddie, Taz quickly gave Louis a peck on the cheek, making him blush crimson. Raz, unable to see the group properly, tried to sit up, but grunted in pain and lay back down hurriedly, attracting the attention and concern of everyone in the cave.

"Razzy!" squealed a small voice nobody was familiar with. They all looked around curiously, trying to decipher where the voice had come from.

"Who said that?" asked Hollie finally.

"No idea…" replied Boris.

"Razzy!" repeated the voice happily. Finally, Shira figured it out.

"Guys…" she raised her voice to speak over everyone else, interrupting Manny but not caring "I think I know who spoke."

"Who?" asked Diego curiously. Shira pointed down at the bundle of cubs at her side. Sitting dead center of the group was Hope, a triumphant smile on her face and her eyes lit up with joy.

"Hope… she spoke?!" Diego sounded both amazed and over-joyed. Shira nodded.

"She… said mah name…?" Raz asked quietly "Why would the lil' Sheila do tha'?"

Shira shrugged. "Because she loves you?" she suggested.

"Bu'…why?"

"Because you've been nothing but kind and sweet to her for her entire life?" Shira offered. Raz's eyes widened.

"Ah can't believe she... loves meh."

"We all love you Raz,"spoke Diego, attracting the kangaroo's attention "You're a part of our family. You all are."

"Thanks tigah."

"Buck stood, with his arm firmly around Diesel, over the new entrance to Dinotopia, the hole Shira led Rudy up to the surface through. The baryonyx, now back in his world, smiled at the couple, proud that his old opponent had finally found someone he loved.

"G'bye, Snowflake," Buck saluted, and planted a light kiss on Diesel's cheek "Thanks for setting us up together."

He ruffled the fur on Diesel's head, a grin spreading across his face. "C'mon, let's get back."

She seemed confused. "Are you done saying goodbye to Rudy?"

"Yeah," he nodded.

"I thought... maybe, uhm..."

"I'd want more time to say goodbye?" he suggested, to which she nodded. "Well, I'm good. I'm gonna miss him, but hey, I have you now."

The two embraced, before heading back to the herd.

* * *

Sid led his Granny by the arm, stopping her from wandering off. They'd just been visiting Precious, Granny's pet whale, and now they were going home. Suddenly, two young wolves came running up to him.

"Rhianne! Herbert!" he greeted them happily "What's up, my bad mammal jammals?"

Rhianne giggled. "Guess what? Mommy said we're going to move caves so we can live closer to you guys and see you all more!"

"It's gonna be great!" added Herbert.

Sid smiled, before lifting both kids into a big hug. "That's amazing! So, when do we get to meet your parents?"

"Uhm...does now work?" asked Rhianne, as Herbert gestured to the bushes. Two adult snow wolves emerged, one male, one female. The female had a flower braided into her fur that sat against her ear.

"Hello," she smiled warmly "My name is Fly **(1)**, and this is my mate Joseph."

"Hi!" Sid called enthusiastically "I've gotta get you guys to the herd! They'll love you!"

"That's very nice of you, Sid," Fly thanked him "Rhianne, Herbert, what do you say to Sid?"

"Thank you!" they chimed in unison.

"Not a problem!" Sid assured them, skipping into the forest. "C'mon, this way everybody!"

* * *

Back at the cave, everybody was getting organized for the campfire. Buck and Diesel returned and joined in, leaping around the trees with the possum brothers to string colourful decorations. Louis wouldn't let Taz, after what happened last time she helped the possums with a scheme, so they worked together to set up the fire, waiting for Sid to come and light it.

Ellie had gone to bring back Alex, Kenzie and Ashling, so that they weren't late for the party. Diego was 'keeping Shira company', even though Raz, Gupta and Silas were all in the cave too, but really he was just afraid to let her out of his sight. The cubs were huddled at her side, nursing hungrily, much to her annoyance. Squint and Izzy were rounding everybody else up, minus Oscar, Mikayla and Kate, who were all on their way back anyway.

When they passed Lenny and Zeke, both of Oscar's old friends had to swallow their teasing comments as his glare attacked their eyes. Mikayla chuckled.

"Lighten up, Osc," she giggled, licking his cheek.

He rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay, for you."

They leaned in to kiss, but were interrupted by Kate. "Ew! Gross! Mommy and Daddy are kissing!"

"Daddy..." snickered Zeke, until Oscar pushed his face into the dirt. Mikayla quickly covered Kate's eyes and ears, as she didn't want her to see such a bad example, and Zeke was cursing.

Peaches observed the group when where she hung upside down in her tree, a smile forming on her lips. Soon after, she grew tired of watching Oscar and Zeke fighting and Lenny, Mikayla and Kate casually observing, so she broke it up.

"Guys, guys, c'mon! We gotta get to the campfire!" she called, dropping down onto the ground and scaring poor Diesel something awful.

"Dang, Peach! Ya almost gave me a heart attack!" she complained, kneeling on the ground with one paw over her racing heart. Peaches blushed, but Diesel cut her off before she could apologise. "Anyway, Buck told me to find you all and tell ya the party's about to start!"

Without hesitation, the group set off for home.

* * *

Sid struck two rocks together, and the sparks landed on the pile of wood and tinder, setting it alight, much to the amazement of Fly, Joesph, and everyone else who was knew to the herd. Dramatically, he took a bow.

"Thank you, thank you," he then moved to stand in a way that would allow the fire to cast his silhouette on the cave wall "I am Sid; Lord of the Flame!"

"Hey, Lord of the Flame," Diego addressed him sarcastically, before pointing to his tail "Your tail's on fire again."

As Sid began to run around screaming like a crazy mammal, Lightning's laughter rose above that of the other cubs, catching both of his parents' attention. "Silwy!" he laughed "Silwy!"

"What's he trying to say?" inquired Flynn. Shira chewed her lip.

"I think he meant 'silly', he's just pretty new to speaking," she explained.

"Wait," Ellie looked up from the fire "How many cubs have spoken now?"

As if on cue, the cubs all repeated their words.

"Dada!" Kendall started them off.

"Razzy!" chimed Hope proudly.

"Dwanger!" Ranger raised a paw towards Squint, who let out an over-exaggerated sigh before placing his head in his paws as Izzy patted his back.

"Silwy!" declared Lightning, still smirking.

"Weasah's!" Jade sat up, a huge smile on her face, gesturing to Buck and Diesel sat together, Buck playing with Diesel's fur "Weasah's!"

Nobody quite knew what she meant, but Louis had a guess. "Uhm, I think she may be saying 'weasels' in little kid language," he guessed correctly. Diesel nodded, a grin forming on her lips.

"Ah...good goin', Diggy," she commented, before turning to Buck and whispering "Think she likes us?"

He nodded slightly in agreement. "Think so, mate."

Their adorable moment was soon cut short by... "D-D...Dw...Dwiggy!" Casper finally managed, gazing at Louis, who blushed.

"D-Does he mean...me?"

Taz rolled her eyes. "Well c'mon, who else is 'Diggy' gonna be?"

"Whatever..." he mumbled, playfully shoving her. Not expecting this, Taz almost fell off the rock she was perched on, but Louis quickly grabbed her paw and pulled her up for a hug.

* * *

"An' they were nevah seen again..." finished Raz, before leaning back on her rock, trying to hide her huge, smug smile. She'd been telling the herd a ghost story, and it was...well, let's just say it literally scared the pee out of Crash and Eddie at one point.

Shira turned to Manny and shrugged. "In hindsight, it was really a bad idea on your part to let an ex pirate tell a scary story."

"Yeah, yeah..." he muttered.

After a moment of awkward silence, Kenzie spoke up. "Hey, uhm... I'm not really sure how things work around here, but I was wondering if we could maybe...have like, some karaoke or something..."

"YES!" exclaimed Peaches, before noticing the strange looks she was getting and explaining "I really wanted to do karaoke but I didn't think anyone else would really be into it."

"Are you kidding?!" laughed Shira "Karaoke's amazing!"

"True dat!" said Taz and Diesel at the same time, which caused them to laugh and mime high-fiving, even though they were on opposite sides of the cave.

"I'll go first!" declared Sid, before getting up to sing one of his made-up songs, but Granny stopped him.

"Aw Sidney, let someone with _talent _have a go!" she complained, hitting him with her stick. Sid agreed quickly, not wanting to have another encounter with his grandma's stick, and pointed randomly at Shira, volunteering her.

"Why me?" she demanded, frowning.

Diego licked her ears. "Well, you have been missing for four months, I think it's time we heard you sing again," he encouraged her. She sighed.

"Fine, what song?" suddenly, she had an idea. "Hey, why don't all of us sing 'We Are'? I mean, we're finally like a family again, right?"

There were murmurs of agreement from everybody, but Manny soon spoke up. "Wait, none of the pirates know it, do they?"

"No, but everyone from _my _crew knows a little routine," she winked at Raz "And I'm sure the others could pick it up as they go."

Izzy shrugged. "Sounds good to me, right guys?"

They all nodded. Peaches smiled brightly before singing_:_

_"We are, we are, not your ordinary fam-mily, but we can all agree that,"_

_"We are, we are," _Louis and Meghan joined in.

Then Diego smiled at his packmates. _"Close as close can be!"_

_"So it don't matter what it looks like, we look perfect to me! We got every kind of love, I feel so lucky indeed!" _sang Shira.

Ellie grinned. _"They can keep on talking, it don't matter to me, coz. we are, we are,"_

_"Family!" _the entire group sang together. Then the pirates started their own verse.

**Shira&Gupta: **_"So what, we don't look,"_

**Squint: **_"We don't act,"_

**Silas&Flynn: **_"We don't walk,"_

**Raz & Boris:** _"We don't talk,"_

**Everyone: **_"Like you do!"_

**Gupta, Squint, Raz and Shira: **_"So what, if we hang, just a-hangin' no shame, we all do what we want to!"_

**Boris & Flynn: **_"Coz we come from everywhere,"_

**Silas & Squint: **_"Searchin' for ones who care!"_

**Raz & Gupta: **_"Somehow we found it here,"_

**Shira: **_"We found us a home!"_

The rest of the group clapped happily, pleased with their work, before the main herd continued.

_"We are, we are, not your ordinary fam-mily, but we can all agree that we are, we are,"_

_"Close as close can be!" _Dex and Bronson looked around in confusion as no-one else had sung.

"That's too close!" declared Granny, hitting Kenzie, who was sitting next to her, with her cane.

"Ow!"

After a nudge of approval from Shira, Alex sang._ "So it don't matter what it looks like, we look perfect to me!"_

_"We got every kinda love I feel so lucky indeed!" _contributed Kenzie, rubbing her head.

_"They can keep on talkin',"_ sang Rebecca.

_"It don't matter to me, coz," _added Lauren

Ashling sat up. _"We are, we are,"_

_"Family!" _cheered everybody, before starting on the verse.

**Peaches: **_"Okay so, the links in our chains, makes us strange."_

**Ellie:** _"But really they make us stronger!"_

**Taz & Diesel: **_"And I wouldn't replace not a thing!"_

**Peaches: **_"Mother-"_

"Or father!"

"Go Manny!" laughed Sid.

**Meghan: **_"Coz we come from everywhere!"_

**Louis: **_"Searching for ones who care!"_

**Crash, Eddie & Buck: **_"Somehow we found it here!"_

Shira grabbed Mikayla's paw as they sang together _"We found us a home!"_

_"We are, we are, family!" _everybody finished together.

And so they all dispersed to wherever they were gonna sleep for the night. Louis dove into the ground and tunnelled off, making the tunnel wide so that Taz could get through too without having to dig, as it wasn't something possums typically did.

After clambering up onto the rock, Taz ruffled Tina's fur. "Night Tina," she said with a smile. A moment later, she sighed. "Really, you aren't gonna say anything? C'mon Tine, you're the only cub who hasn't spoken yet!"

Shira giggled. "She'll speak when she's ready Taz."

"I know..." she mumbled "I just kinda wanted to be around when she did speak."

"Maybe you will be," offered Diego. Taz smiled.

"I hope so," she stated, before turning and jumping off the rock into the hole.

"Tazzie," lisped a small, unfamiliar voice. The possum whipped around, and stared deep into Tina's eyes.

"Thanks, kid," she blew Tina a goodnight kiss before following Louis out of the cave. Shira smiled, before snuggling into Diego's chest. He playfully tickled her, until she growled at him. Raz watched with amusement as the two sabres batted at each-other with their paws, the cubs all scattered around them with large grins on their faces, occasionally muttering their little words.

"Sheila," she called, getting her sister's attention "Thanks. Fer everythin'."

"Whaddaya mean?" Shira asked, smiling "Everyone deserves a second chance."

Then, they all settled down and went to sleep, looking forward to another day with their large, heavily extended family. As Raz closed her eyes, a simple smile formed on her lips. For the first time since she could remember, she felt happy and content. She seriously owed her sister, and the herd, for that matter. After all, despite everything that had happened in the past, they still gave her and her siblings a second chance.

_**The End**_

**A/N: OMG I can't believe it's over! *grabs tissue to dry tears* Man, it ended so fast...**

**Izzy: No it didn't! This story is 31 chapters long! And there's the Epilogue!**

**Me: *blows nose* Yeah. Yeah, I guess you're right. Okay, I think I'm good for now. So, did you all enjoy? Me hopes so. Hopefully the Epilogue will be out soon, but no promises because as I said above I do have a fairly important English assessment on Titanic that I gotta write. Now, I guess I'll see you all in the Epilogue *sniffles* Excuse me! *dashes out of the room to go get Ben 'n' Jerry's ice cream***

**Izzy: *shrugs* Well, see ya next time guys! Since she's drowning her sorrows in ice-cream, I guess I'll say it. Thanks for reading and please review! XD**

**Me: *from kitchen* Thanks Izzy!**


	32. Epilogues and Ending Credits

**HALLELUAH! I finally posted it! Oh dear fudge I am so sorry I took so long to post this! :O But, I finally had a whole day to spend on my laptop! Yeah, I'm staying in all day and doing nothing coz I'm sick. Oh well, there's a chance I might not be in school tomorrow, so hey, every cloud has a silver lining, right? Hopefully it should be good, but I'm not sure. At least it's nice and long for once, lols. Oh, and I can't remember if I put this last chapter or not, but I got the idea for Rhianne and Herbert's mother Fly from the movie Babe, which I think is super-cute :)**

**Disclaimer: Taz, Dex, and Bronson all belong to scoobs5601 and Rebecca and Diesel belong to Blumacaw13.**

"Are you done yet?"

"Wait..."

"...Are you done yet?!"

"_Wait_..."

"...Are you done yet?!"

"WAIT!"

Shira shrunk back; she'd never seen Izzy yell before. The two months were up, her leg was healed, and Shira was allowed to walk again, much to her happiness. Izabella was just removing the clunky cast Shira hated so much, but, in Shira's opinion, was taking too long to do so. Using Buck's knife, which he had loaned her (with strict instructions on what she could and couldn't do), Izzy cut the last vine. One by one, she pulled away the chunks of wood, leaving Shira's leg free from the stupid contraption. Just a mere week ago, Manny and Ellie had moved her back into her old cave that she shared with Diego, so that she didn't disturb Raz while her cast was being removed.

"Okay, all done," declared Izzy, stepping back, partly to admire her work, but mostly because she was slightly afraid of what Shira might do. Shakily, she tried to stand up, but it became apparent that after two months of being immobilized her leg didn't want to take her weight. It cramped up and buckled beneath her, causing the sabre to fall down onto the rock with a hiss and a curse.

Rushing forwards, Izzy screamed in a high-pitched voice "Diego! Come quick!"

Before she'd even finished her sentence, the orange-furred sabre was in the cave, at Shira's side, holding her close and comforting her. They murmured to each-other, but Izzy politely blanked out everything they said so that she wasn't intruding. Suddenly, she heard crying outside. _Ugh, _she thought, _That's the third time today._

"Shira? Diego? Want me to take this one?" she asked, to which both sabres nodded and thanked her. As the rabbit scurried out, Diego's claw caught something that was around Shira's neck. That vine with the little leaf pouch, the one he'd discovered a while ago but had never had the chance to bring up to her. Until now.

"Hey, Shira?"

"Mm?" she looked up from where she had been staring at the floor, enjoying her mate's touch.

"Just out of curiosity..." he hooked his claw around the vine and lifted it off her neck "What is in this?"

She looked at in utter confusion for a moment, before..."Oh! I remember!" she gasped, taking the vine from Diego and opening the pouch. Inside were several oval-shaped golden yellow seed-like things "I saved them up when I was on the ship, in Gutt's capture."

Diego shuddered in memory of what she must've endured. "So, what are they?"

"Seeds. From this really nice fruit, I'm not sure what it's called. I thought the kids might enjoy it, but I knew that just carrying a load of fruit off the ship would be weird, so I made a little pile of all the seeds, since the pirates smuggled me at least one of the fruit a day," explained Shira, her eyes glossing over as a pang of guilt for what happened to Raz after everything the kangaroo had done for her striking her heart "I hid them under a heap of hay in the cell, but when I went into labour Squint moved all the hay so I wasn't giving birth on the ice. Afterwards, Raz helped me make this, so that when I escaped we could plant them on the island and grow the fruit ourselves."

"Wow..." breathed Diego "That was a really great plan."

"I actually meant to tell you a while ago, when I first came back to the herd, but I just kinda forgot."

Diego chuckled. "Well, I found it ages ago, but I just never had a good chance to bring it up and ask you about it. I was worried it was something personal, y'know, something I wasn't supposed to know about."

"No," Shira shook her head "It's obviously not personal or anything, and you were actually supposed to know. I just forgot because I'm stupid..."

"No you're not," Diego stated firmly, tilting her head up so he was looking into her eyes "You're beautiful."

Shira felt herself go deep red, but she snuggled deeper into his chest to hide it from Diego. It didn't really work though, because Diego purposely leant back so much that Shira couldn't bury herself in his fur. She pouted, wishing he would let her cuddle up and wondering why he wouldn't. She got her answer a moment later, when Diego leaned in and gently touched his lips to hers. Happiness following through her veins like blood, Shira kissed him back, finally feeling as if everything was back to normal. There were no more villains terrorizing them, she was all healed, Gupta's ankle had long ago been deemed better by the doctors of the herd (Squint and Izzy), and according to the rabbits Raz should be back to normal any day now. Everything was perfect...

"Please stop crying!" they heard Izzy whine outside. Shira couldn't help giggling. Okay, so not _everything _was perfect.

* * *

Izzy sat in the grass, rocking a small silver-with-black-stripes cub in her arms. Tina sniffed again, more tears falling from her eyes. The doe had been comforting, or at least trying to comfort, her for what felt like forever, but in reality was a couple of minutes. Despite general and natural worry for somebody crying, the fact that the cub was two months old and too distraught to even speak really worried Izzy, but no matter what she tried she couldn't make her stop.

Taz and Louis were just walking into the clearing, holding paws of course, when Tina let out an especially loud cry. This caught the possum's attention instantaneously, making her drop Louis's paw and shoot across the space like a bullet being fired from a gun.

Dropping to her knees beside the cub and pushing Izzy to the side, Taz cradled Tina's head in her arms. "Aww, shush, sweetie, shush..." she crooned, stroking the sabre cub. Any animal passing by would just keep going, maybe speed up, as the scene was incredibly strange. Or at least they would, if they weren't already used to the strange herd with their strange antics, which most of the island was by now.

"Hey!" Izzy clambered to her feet "That wasn't nice! I was trying to help her! Shira told me too!"

Taz stood up, one arm around Tina still, the other paw on her hip, and gave the rabbit her I-know-what-I'm-doing look. "Uhm, she's _my_ goddaughter!"

This was true. Since Tina favoured Taz so much, she had been Shira's first choice for the youngest cub's godmother. Raz was Hope's, considering she was the child's first word, and Sid was Lightning's godfather, since the cub had always liked the sloth for reasons unknown. Manny and Ellie were Kendall's godparents, considering he already followed the leader of the herd around with an adoring look in his eyes, trying to copy his walk. Kendall absolutely idolized his own father, but Manny was a near second. Buck and Diesel were Jade's godparents, as she'd liked the crazy weasel since she first saw him, and Diesel seemed pretty cool to her as well. Crash and Eddie had been told they were joint-godfathers of Ranger, but in all honesty the independent cub needed none. Lastly, Oscar and Mikayla were allowed to be Casper's godparents, as long as they behaved themselves. But Shira had warned them both "One wrong move, and Granny gets a godchild."

This small argument between Taz and Izzy had distracted Tina long enough for the cub to stop crying, but she was still sniffing, when Izzy surrendered and hopped off to find her brother. Taz whipped around, taking Tina into her arms properly.

"Ah, are we all better now?" she asked softly, flicking the child's ears.

"Uhm...I'm gonna go, uh, find...Peaches..." said Louis awkwardly. Taz looked up, smiling.

"You don't have to, Tina likes you too. Right, T?"

"Right!" squeaked the young cub, beaming as Louis slowly tunnelled over. He popped up next to her, and she squealed with delight. Louis smiled, taking a hold of one of Tina's front paws, while Taz held the other.

"Now, are you ready to tell us what happened?" questioned Taz softly. Tina sniffed once more and nodded.

But before she could talk, a voice sounded behind them. "I beat her in a race and then she started crying like a wickle baby, didn'tcha, Teen?"

"No!" snapped Tina, before turning to Taz "He cheated, he cheated, I know he cheated! He pushed me so I'd fall!"

"I did not!" denied Ranger stubbornly, bottom lip sticking out "She fell because she's clumsy!"

"Actually, she fell because you pushed her, Range," clarified Kendall "I was the referee."

"You don't know anything about being a referee!" shouted Ranger "And anyway, you don't even _need _a referee for a running race."

Jade bounded up beside Tina. "You do if there's a cheater in the race!"

"I didn't cheat!" insisted Ranger, but Jade ignored him.

"Cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater!" she chanted over and over again in a sing-song voice "Cheater, cheater-"

"First of all, pumpkin is delicious! Second, I did not cheat!"

"YOU DID SO!" yelled Kendall, Tina and Jade at the same time. Taz groaned, holding a paw to her forehead and leaning against Louis for support. She had nothing against any of Shira's kids, it's just...she was sick of them fighting. They argued all the time, about everything and anything. But then again, what did everyone expect? That all _seven _siblings would somehow get along...?

* * *

Raz shakily sipped some water from a turtleshell. She was allowed to sit now, but was still bedridden, much to her annoyance. But everyday she had a visit from Hope, her godchild, and her brothers, and Izzy had delivered a promise from Shira that she would come every single day once her leg was healed and her cast was off, which was today, if Raz's memory served her right. And every night she had a visit from...somebody. She had such a great time...but she couldn't tell anyone, she'd been specifically told to keep visitors to a minimum.

Grunting, Raz set the shell down again. "Ugh, if Ah nevah have ta stay still again i' will be too soon!"

"Are you okay?" Hope tilting her head to one side, holding in her giggles.

Raz nodded. "Yeah Sheila, Ah'm fine. Jus' sick o' stayin' on mah back all day!"

"Oh, that makes sense," agreed Hope with a smile on her face "I'd _hate _it if I was stuck there."

"Yeah..."

Silence descended on the pair for a moment, the only sound being the combined breathing of the kangaroo and the tiger. Hope suddenly felt tears springing into her eyes, and fought valiantly to hold them back. Once she had blinked them back firmly and her vision was no longer blurred, she looked at Raz with a solemn expression on her face.

"Thank you for saving us."

Raz smiled. "We've been ovah this, Sheila. I' ain't like Ah was gonna let you lil' ankle-bitahs get clawed by tha' sabre bloke."

"I know..." sighed Hope "But I feel bad, like this is our fault. Y'know, coz ya got hurt trying ta help us."

"Wow Sheila, you're startin' ta sound like meh!" chuckled Raz, a hint of an emotion she wasn't sure about creeping in her heart. Pride? Joy? Either way she liked it. But what she'd said was a fact; after spending day after day with the kangaroo in the medical cave, the accent was beginning to rub off on little Hope.

Hope puffed out her chest proudly, clearly impressed. "Ya go' tha' righ, Sheila!" she tried unsuccessfully to mimic Raz's accent, resulting in her marsupial companion's laughter to fill the cave.

"Maybe ya should stick with yer normal accent fer now, Hoppy."

'Hoppy' was a nickname Hope had gained from everyone in the herd. It was inspired by how often she tried to copy Raz, in particular the time she had attempted to hop like a kangaroo instead of walk. **(1)** Considering the cubs were only two months at the moment, and this was a fortnight ago, changing her way of transport was not Hope's best move. She lasted for three days before she got sick of falling on her face trying to get across the cave from her mother's rock to see Raz.

A frown formed on Hope's lips. "Hey...that was two whole weeks ago..."

"Ah'm jus' messin' with ya, kid," Raz managed to get out between her laughs. "Ah'm honestly kinda proud tha' ya like meh so much."

"Well, of course I do," Hope shrugged "You're amazing."

Raz chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Ah swear, ya sound jus' like ya mum did when she first came on the ship."

"Vith the exception of you don't apologize every five minutes," Gupta spoke up from the back of the cave. As soon as his ankle was better and he was allowed to walk, Gupta practically vowed to use it as much as possible, and he'd done a good job of keeping it. Izzy had come up with the theory of, since he spent so much time up on the mast acting as a flag on the ship, it had actually weakened the bones in his legs. Obviously it heightened his climbing ability and his strength, but because his back legs just flapped in the wind for hours on end the bones and joints were more fragile than usual. She'd recommended that he exercised them more to strengthen them up, and he'd really taken her words to heart.

"Yeah..." Raz smiled wistfully "Those were the days, righ' Guppy?"

He nodded. "Indeed."

Hope sat between the two adults, a huge grin plastered on her face and a look of intelligent understanding in her eyes, despite the fact she didn't have the slightest clue what the Hyrax they were talking about.

* * *

Sid marched proudly through the trees, one arm linked with his Granny's, the other swinging at his side. At his feet were Rhianne, Herbert, Lightning, Casper and Kate. After hours of pleading, Sid was finally given permission to open his childcare camp, 'Campo De Sid'.

"Why is this camp called 'Campo De Sid'?" inquired Rhianne "What does it mean?"

Sid beamed proudly. "It means 'Camp of Sid'!"

"Congratulations," said Lightning dryly, but he was joking "You're now an idiot in two languages."

"And you're now exactly like your father," responded Sid grouchily "But with different fur."

Lightning pouted a moment, thinking he had truly upset Sid. To make the sloth feel better, he rubbed his head against Sid's leg, purring adorably, with his amber eyes wide. He'd once overheard his mother telling his sisters, "If you have wide eyes and a cute purr, you can get around anyone in this herd." Apparently, she was right, because Sid scooped him up and cuddled him.

"Don't worry little guy, I was just kidding," he cooed softly. Lightning smiled and thought, _works every time_.

After several more minutes of walking, they finally arrived down at the beach. The glistening yellow sand stretched in every direction, and in seconds Lightning and Casper had shot off, leaving trails of dust behind them. Rolling her eyes, Kate jogged after them, knowing that she was supposed to keep an eye on them. Herbert stayed by Sid's side to ask a question, and as the siblings never separated, Rhianne stayed with the sloths too.

"Hey, Uncle Sid?" asked Herbert. All the kids in the herd, even Rhianne and Herbert, who technically had no family link to the herd, called Sid their uncle, and absolutely everybody called his grandmother Granny. It was just how things worked.

"Yeah, Herb?"

"Why did we come down here?" Herbert looked at Sid curiously. The sloth shrugged.

"I thought you guys would enjoy it. Besides," Sid altered his stance, and his voice, alerting everyone that he was going into a speech. "Kids today spend too much time inside their caves, isolated from the fantastic wonders of nature! Children are the greatest part of our life, and you deserve to, no, you _need _to experience the grand outdoors in a way you will appreciate, for example, a beach day."

A moment of silence passed as the words sunk in, before..."So, basically we're taking Granny to see Precious, right?" Rhianne raised an eyebrow.

"Uhm..." Sid seemed uncomfortable "Maybe. Now go enjoy the wonders of nature."

Laughing hard and loud, Rhianne and Herbert took off running into the sand, quickly joining the other cubs as they were the eldest, and naturally faster. All five cubs played happily for a while, giving Sid a chance to take Granny down to the ocean to see Precious.

_**Forty-five minutes later**_

"Granny," Sid tried to keep his desperation out of his voice "Haven't you finished talking to Precious yet?"

"No!" she retorted, without even looking over her shoulder at her grandson "Me and Precious have a lot of catching up to do!"

"But Granny the kids-" Sid began, but was cut off by a pained cry from further up the beach "Oh, no!"

Sid ran as fast as he could back to the kids, completely forgetting about the purple sloth clambering into a whale's mouth and crying "Giddy up, Precious! Let's go!", as he was so afraid for the safety of such young kids. Internally, he was praying it wasn't one of Diego's kids that had gotten injured, because he knew Shira's cast had come off today and there was a high chance she'd attack him. But when he sprinted onto the scene, he discovered it was in fact Kate that had gotten hurt.

"Kate sweetie, what happened?" he asked, gently lifting her up in his arms. She had a sharp shard of wood stuck in her paw, and although there was only the smallest trickle of blood, it looked very painful.

"We were playing tag and I stood on some wood!" she whined, the words pouring out of her mouth without pause because of her desperation to hold in her tears.

Sid cradled her to his chest. "Oh, you poor thing..."

"Should I take her back to Aunt Mikayla and Uncle Oscar, Uncle Sid?" offered Casper. Sid looked wary.

"Are you sure you can take her? She probably can't walk," he warned the cub, but Casper was persistent.

"Please!" he begged "I can help her!"

Kate joined in. "Yeah, please Uncle Sid?!"

Finally, Sid caved. "Oh, fine...but stay safe, both of you!"

The sloth placed the mountain lion cub carefully on the ground, directly next to little Casper, whom she quickly leaned on for support. It was kinda odd; the four people in the herd that Casper was closest to were Tina, Kate, and his parents. Other than that he kept away and stayed quiet as much as possible, unlike his brothers, who enjoyed projecting their voices.

As Sid watched Kate limp along, leaning heavily on her godbrother, he sighed. "This is not going to be good for my babysitting business..."

* * *

Peaches plucked a beautiful flower from the rosebush she stood in front of, and threaded it into Meghan's hair. The two females were having a bit of a girly day, since Louis was out with Taz. Or he was earlier, at least, for all they knew they could've gone home to the herd now. They didn't officially live with the herd (well, Taz did), but Louis and Meghan were both incredibly at home with the mixed-up bunch of animals, and plans had been created for the future.

In fact, that was actually the current conversation between the two mammoths.

"K'so, you and me could share a cave for a while, y'know, before we find mates and everything..." mused Peaches, and Meghan nodded.

"Yeah, and if things work out for Louis and Taz they could be our neighbours!"

Peaches nodded. "Sounds perfect!"

"So," Meghan handed Peaches another flower "Where will the cave be? Like, where on the island? Roughly, of course."

"Uhm...we could get one kinda near the herd, for a while at least," suggested Peaches "I don't think I'm anywhere near ready to leave the herd completely yet, despite how annoying some of them can be sometimes."

"Yeah..." agreed Meghan "Plus, everything's finally calming down in your family. We don't wanna rock the boat by moving out fully just yet."

"What do you mean?" asked Peaches.

"Well, Shira and Raz are both nearly healed now, the cubs are all getting along fine, all the couples are happy again...everything's getting back to normal," explained Meghan "I wouldn't want to get your parents- okay fine, your dad, upset again. And it wouldn't just be him, I bet the whole herd would be devastated if you left."

"Thanks, Meg," Peaches smiled. Suddenly, Ethan, Steffie, and the rest of the teenaged mammoths appeared in the small, flowered clearing. Steffie had a necklace made of a lump of gorgeous pink rock on a piece of string, and her hair was dotted with small flowers. Katie's hair was styled in an almost crown-like shape, and was sprinkled with shimmering little leaves. Clearly, they were trying to look pretty, maybe to make Peaches and Meghan jealous.

"Ethan?" gasped Peaches, dropping the trunkful of flowers she was holding.

"Hey, Peaches," he sounded kinda, nervous?

A moment of awkward silence hung in the air. "So, why are you here?" she finally asked.

"Well..." Ethan bit his lip "I, well, we wanted to formally apologise."

Peaches was about to point out that he apologised a long time ago, but he mouthed 'Don't!' to her, and she understood that he'd gone behind the other mammoths' backs to apologise to her in private, and now he'd finally convinced the rest of his group to apologise too. She felt a fluttery feeling in her heart, knowing that he'd gone out of his way and risked his image as Cool-Guy to let her know he was sorry for everything he had done. But, she still wasn't sure if she liked him 'that way'...love was confusing.

"Oh, really?" she sounded confused, as if she knew nothing at all of them thinking about apologising, but not in a way that seemed impolite "Thank-you, that really means a lot."

Steffie gave her a sickly smile. "Yeah, we knew we were wrong and we felt very bad about it."

"Wow, it takes a very mature mammal to come out and say that," commented Meghan. Obviously Ethan had given his crew strict instructions on what to say and how to act...Peaches wasn't quite sure if she liked or hated that. Meghan, on the other hand, or paw, whichever was more appropriate, found it rather amusing that Steffie and the rest of the fickle mammoths were having to force scripted apologies from their lips. The fact that they were _that _desperate to please Ethan was funny in itself to Meghan, but Peaches, having never been part of the mammoth crew, just found it a little sickening.

"Yes, I suppose it does..." agreed Katie absently, seeming far less disgusted by her words than the rest of the group.

"Well...uhm, thanks, guys..." Peaches finally spoke after a long minute of silence. It felt weird being scrutinized by the half-hidden glares of the other mammoth girls without Louis either by her side or on her head; she hoped, no, she _prayed _his new relationship with Taz wouldn't have a long-term effect on their friendship. It hadn't so far, but it had only been two months, anything could happen in the long run.

Don't get the wrong idea; it wasn't that she disliked Louis and Taz together as a couple, she thought they were pretty adorable in actual fact, but she really treasured her friendships with Louis and Meghan (and, as of recently, Taz too), and she didn't want them affected or destroyed by the strains of relationships, like her crush on Ethan had almost done.

"So are we all like...cool, now?" Ethan broke the silence.

After a side glance at Meghan to get her okay, Peaches smiled sweetly. "Yeah, I think we're cool."

* * *

"-but, just as Rudy's foot came rushing towards me, I dove to the side, flipped around, and ran up onto his head. Obviously, he wasn't too happy about that, but I ripped a vine off a tree and threw around his mouth, so I could control where he was going," Buck was vividly telling his fan-group, also known as Crash and Eddie, about one of his amazing adventures, while the two possums hung on his every word.

"Wow...impressive," commented a voice behind him. Buck yelped and spun around, only to find the newly familiar face of Diesel staring back at him, hanging upside-down from a vine.

Prodding her shoulder playfully, he faked a frown. "Hey! You scared me!"

"Seriously?" she giggled and rolled her eyes "You fought all those dinosaurs and _I _scared you?"

"Well...dinosaurs are easier to notice..." he mumbled. Diesel clamped her lips together for a moment...before promptly bursting out into fits of laughter. Buck smiled at her for a moment.

"Alright, alright, I guess you got me..." he sighed. Diesel opened her mouth to respond, but he grabbed her paws and pulled her down from the tree, holding her to his chest and pressing her face into his fur. "...or maybe not."

She tried to wriggle away, but, anticipating this, Buck tightened his hold on her, forcing her to stay in her position. He felt Diesel's reasonably dull claws scrabbling at his chest, so he leaned back, checking if she was okay. Alright, so he did have to admit, underneath her fur she was looking a _little _bit blue underneath her fur but...she was fine, right?

"Hey, D, are you-" he began to ask, until she jokingly punched him in the arm.

"You almost choked me!" she snapped accusingly, folding her arms across her chest, a pout forming on her lips.

He sighed, before cuddling her again, lighter this time. "Okay, I'm sorry...are we good now?"

"Hmm..." she pretended to think it over, but didn't really succeed in faking him out as she was smirking like mad "Yeah, I suppose we're good."

They both laughed gently, snuggling closer together, completely forgetting about two certain possums...who were currently rolling around on the floor, in stiches laughing, trying to mock the pair but failing because of their uncontrollable laughter. Nevertheless, they both attempted to repeat the words both weasels were saying, resulting in Buck and Diesel pelting the twins with dirt-stained rocks.

"Hey!" whined Eddie.

"What was that for?!" demanded Crash.

Buck and Diesel turned to each-other, rolled their eyes, and returned their gazes to the possum twins. "GET OUTTA HERE!" they shouted simultaneously, causing both Crash and Eddie to scurry away in fear, grumbling to themselves about one thing or another.

Grinning, Buck took a hold of Diesel's paw. "So...where were we?" he asked, leaning in to kiss Diesel on the lips...

"Not there," clarified Diesel, pressing her paw against his mouth. Sulking, he leaned away, but moved his arms to cradle her to his chest.

"Here?" he asked hopefully, which made Diesel burst into giggles again.

"Sure, why not?" she replied, wrapping her arms around his neck. They both lay there for a while, at the foot of the tree Diesel had first hidden in earlier that day. Until, of course, the familiar sound of Manny trumpeting, the sound that told the herd to return home, echoed throughout the forest. Sighing, they both clambered up, before racing each-other home.

* * *

Silas glided freely through the air, enjoying the salt-free air. Sure, he had been on land for two months now, but he still couldn't get rushed to the fact that he no longer needed to patrol the salty seas for trespassers and intruders under Gutt's command; he was, excuse the pun, as free as a bird. And of course, his whole crew were too. That was the best part of being away from the massive ice-ship, that he had his crew, no, his _family _here with him. Finally, they could call themselves a family all they wanted, with no fear of threats or punishments from the authority figure of the ship. Although, that was impossible now, as even though Manny was the leader of the herd, the authority figure would always be, in the pirates' eyes, Raz, as she was always in charge when Gutt was busy for as long as any of them could remember about their time on board.

"Ah, zis is ze life..." he sighed blissfully, landing on a branch above Squint and Boris, who were casually exchanging conversation with each-other. That was another great thing; Boris could talk now, as much as he wanted, no longer forced into silence by the threat of Gutt's claws.

"Exactly," agreed Squint, patting the sleeping rabbit doe Silas hadn't noticed earlier. He smiled; he was glad Squint had been reunited with little Izzy, who was currently unconscious in his lap.

"...away..." she murmured, batting Squint's paw off her head in her sleep, causing all three boys to chuckle. Apparently, taking off Shira's cast and then trying to calm Tina down had really tuckered the little rabbit out.

A moment of silence passed, before Boris spoke up. "Hey, guys?" he said "It's getting kinda late, maybe we should head back?"

"Nah, we don't need to," Squint shrugged, careful not to disturb Izzy. Manny's trumpeting reached the ears of the three members of the old crew who were awake, signalling they needed to get going. "_Now_ we need to."

* * *

Mikayla lay sprawled out on a smooth rock near a soft cliff, Oscar lying beside her, with one of his forelegs around her shoulders. She smiled contently; it felt as if the whole world was perfect. Of course, she knew it wasn't, a perfect world was impossible, but she just had one of those feelings inside telling her everything was alright for a change. Suddenly, a familiar voice called out from the bushes.

"Auntie Mikayla! Uncle Oscar!" yelled Casper, breaking through the leafy greenery with Kate stumbling beside him, leaning heavily on the younger boy, as she had a large splinter of wood stuck in her paw.

"Oh gosh, Kate sweetie, what happened?!" gasped Mikayla, leaping up and rushing over to her injured adoptive daughter, Oscar following.

Casper, after receiving the signal from Kate that she didn't want to speak, finally spoke up. "We were playing on the beach with Lightning, Rhianne and Herbert, and then Kate got the wood stuck in her foot," he explained.

"Aww, poor thing..." sighed Mikayla, cuddling Kate close. Oscar ruffled the fur on top of her head fondly, having never been one for mushy expressions of feelings or comforting words that had no point to them. He was raised in a harsh pack; emotions and kindness were both very rare. Diego seemed to have outgrown that, though...Oscar hoped to someday do the same.

"C'mere kiddo, let's see if we can get Izzy to bandage that up for ya," he commented casually, but with a touch of the loving fatherly nature he'd been working on in the last two months. Kate nodded, letting Mikayla place her on Oscar's back. He padded off towards the bushes, but turned back to Mikayla with a look that said "Aren't you coming?"

She smiled. "I'll catch up in a minute with Caz," she told him, placing a paw on Casper's head. Oscar nodded, before trotting off into the forest, chatting away to Kate, probably trying to distract her from the wood in her paw. Apparently it worked, because just before she left, Kate waved with her un-injured paw at her adoptive mother and Casper. As soon as they had gone, Mikayla turned to Casper.

"You wished to speak to me?" he asked politely.

"Yes," she confirmed "I did. Look, I just wanted to say...thank you."

"What for?" inquired Casper "What did I do?"

Mikayla hugging him close with her paw. "Well, for being a good godbrother. You were there when Kate needed you; that's all we could ever expect from you. Other than, y'know, you not becoming a heartless mass murderer or something...that'd suck."

Knowing she was joking, Casper laughed gently, cuddling closer to his godmother. She nuzzled him softly, cradling him against her stomach.

"C'mon Caz. We better get back to the herd. Any minute now Manny'll-" she was cut off by the 'Return Home' signal "-be doing that."

* * *

Manny stood in the clearing, trumpeting loudly to call the herd home. Unknown to him, Ellie walked up behind him, a kind smile on her face. She knew he was worried; everything had been working out okay in the past two months, and he thought that there was a good chance that something would go wrong, something awful. Personally, she didn't think it was likely, but she didn't want to upset her mate, since she didn't want to put him in a bad mood.

"Manny, sweetheart?" she asked softly, resting her trunk on the side of his face and stroking his cheek "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, Ellie..." he sighed "I'm fine. It's just..."

"You're worried?" she guessed.

Surprisingly, he shook his head. "No, I'm happy, I mean, everything is working out okay...but..."

"But...?" prompted Ellie.

"I just don't know what's going to happen next. I mean, Diego and Shira have their cubs, I suppose Mikayla and Oscar will be raising little Kate..." he broke off as Ellie started giggling "What?"

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough..." she answered mysteriously, smirking. He raised an eyebrow.

"What do you-" he began, but Ellie cut him off by grabbing his trunk.

"Look, just trust me Manny. You trust me, right?" she looked into his eyes for confirmation.

He smiled. "Of course I do."

"Good," she stated simply "Coz I hate being uncertain about stuff."

"So...just how soon am I gonna find out about whatever this is?" he questioned. Ellie shrugged, then spotted Oscar entering with Kate on his back.

"Oh, probably in a few minutes. Something like that," she commented slyly, before calling "Hey, Oscar?!"

He spun around, smiling at her, or at least, trying his best to do so. "Yeah Ellie?"

"When are you and Mikayla gonna-"

"Later," he interrupted "I just need Izzy to fix up Kate's paw, since she hurt it at the beach."

Squint, walking through the bushes with a sleeping Izzy lying in his arms, laughed. "That could be kinda difficult, considering she ran up to me about an hour ago then passed out in about three minutes. She hasn't woken up since, but she's okay. Want me to take a look at Kate's paw? I'm not as good as Iz, but..."

Oscar grinned. "Thanks Squint. Let Izzy get her rest, but we'll need to wake her up pretty soon. Me and Mikayla have something we wanna say to the _whole _herd."

Nodding, Squint passed Izzy to Boris, and headed over to the now whimpering mountain lion cub, who had remembered about the splinter rammed into her paw, now that people were talking about it again. Forcing himself to work through the pain spreading, as Kate weighed nearly the same as him, considering the size and species difference, Squint carried her through to the cave.

Manny turned back to Ellie, who was still focused on Kate, Squint and Oscar. He linked his trunk with hers again, hugging her close. "Thanks for being there for me Ellie, even though I can sometimes be a bit..."

"Protective? Paranoid?" she suggested jokingly "No problem. You're my mate, Manny, and I love you."

"Love you too."

One by one, the rest of the herd members filed into the clearing, gathering in their various groups and talking about anything. Peaches and Meghan stood with Louis and Taz, telling the two smaller creatures about the Brat Pack's apology. Buck and Diesel were perched together on a branch of a tree, discussing what had happened in Dinotopia since Buck had left all that time ago to join the herd. Crash and Eddie were just being themselves, also called running around crazily having a good time, and getting in everybody's way without a care. Mikayla arrived with Casper, who she sent over to his siblings, before heading into the cave to check on how Kate was doing with her injured paw.

Casper sat down beside Tina, who was playing with a flower. Hope had now left Raz's cave, and was lying on her back in the last rays of sunshine. Jade rested her head on her paws, yawning sleepily, struggling to stay awake. Kendall and Ranger were having a play-fight, neither trying to hurt each-other, just jokingly clawing and pouncing. Lightning emerged from the bushes with Rhianne, Herbert, Sid and Granny, and hurried over to join in the fun. Rhianne and Herbert sat a little way away from the other kids, chatting amongst themselves. When Kate left the cave, paw now bandaged, she padded over carefully, entering the conversation with her two best friends.

Sid led Granny over to her special rock, since she didn't like walking or standing much lately as she was getting older now. The pirates gathered in small groups, Gupta staying in Raz's cave to keep his sister company. Soon, she'd be able to move and stand, but for now she was still immobile, thanks to Soto. Diego lay on his back in the grass, Shira sprawled across his chest, watching the kids play amongst themselves.

Smiling, he looked down at the silver head resting on his shoulder, eyes closed. "So, how does it feel being out of the cave again?" he asked her, grinning widely as she opened her blue eyes.

"Amazing," she replied, snuggling deeper into his fur "You wouldn't believe how boring it gets being stuck in the same spot for two months."

"Actually, I would. I was there with you most of the time," he pointed out, before licking her ears.

She shrugged, trying not to purr. "Fair enough."

Mikayla and Oscar exited the cave together, Oscar holding Mikayla's paw. Sure, it made walking pretty awkward, but she needed the support to say what she needed to tell the herd. Looking into her mate's eyes for reassurance, Mikayla clambered onto a large stone and started calling for the herd's attention. Unfortunately, her nerves quietened her voice, so she failed to penetrate the herd's ears.

"Don't worry sweetie, I've got it," promised Oscar, before throwing his head back and roaring loudly. This, obviously, caught their attention, so everybody turned to the couple.

"Uhm, see...I, I mean, _we_ have something to tell you guys..." she began sheepishly. Taking a deep breath, she continued "I...I'm...pregnant."

This news caused the entire herd to explode into various words of happiness and congratulations for the pair, even Granny getting excited by the prospect of new little kittens joining the heavily-extended family. Once the initial buzz had died down a touch, Diego and Shira, who still stumbled slightly, made their way over to the other sabre couple.

"Congratulations Oscar," Diego smiled at his former pack mate "Never thought I'd see you settle down with a mate."

"Likewise," replied Oscar, gesturing towards Shira with his head "But thanks...y'know, I can't believe we both spent so long with Soto, and then...the second he left...everything got better."

Diego nodded. "Yeah, I get it. Pretty strange, right?"

"Definitely."

Meanwhile, Shira approached Mikayla, who suddenly got very awkward. "Look, Shira, I just wanna say, I am so sorry but if you'd just listen you'd see my reasons for liking your mate were totally justified and I-" she babbled, having not really spoken to Shira at all during her time in the herd.

"I'm not mad anymore Mikayla," Shira interrupted.

"You're not?"

She sighed. "No, I guess not. Obviously the idea of you hitting on my mate while I was captured on a pirate ship isn't all that appealing..." she giggled lightly to show Mikayla that she really wasn't angry "...but you've gotten over it, so I've kinda gotten over it too."

"Really?!" Mikayla wasn't sure whether or not to believe her "You're not gonna like...come after me in my sleep, right?"

Shira laughed. "Nah, we're good."

"Phew..." Mikayla breathed a sigh of relief "Y'know, that's really mature of you. You're seriously awesome."

"Actually, I spent the first month of my recovery planning how I was gonna get my revenge," admitted Shira "But when you're stuck lying in a cave for a full two months, you have a lot of time to think. And I guess I kinda...thought my way out of killing you."

"Well...I'm very glad you did," said Mikayla, smiling "So are we like...friends, now?"

Shira considered it, before shrugging. "Yeah, I suppose. As long as you never go near Diego again."

"No fear, I have Oscar now," she reassured her.

"Cool..." Shira paused for a moment, staring at the floor, before looking up at Mikayla "I'm really happy for you guys, you know that, right?"

"I do now," Mikayla told her "But I gotta admit, I kinda figured you'd hate the idea of me being happy."

She blushed. "Yeah well, like I said, at first I did. But then I thought about it more and I worked out...I didn't then - nor do I now - know _anything _about you, so I shouldn't be making decisions as big as like, attacking you...yet," seeing Mikayla's fearful look, she added "I'm just kidding, seriously, we're fine."

"Thanks."

After bidding Mikayla goodbye, Shira left Diego to talk to Oscar, and sat down on a bank of moss.

"Hey Auntie Shira," came a voice behind her.

"Hi Peach," she responded, not needing to turn around to know that the mammoth teen was stood behind her "What's up?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to say I'm glad everything worked out for you."

This piqued the sabre's curiousity. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Peaches sat beside her aunt "You're pirate family is here, you have your little family with Uncle Diego, and the herd's all happy. It's like, all smiley and cheery for once, considering some of the stories you've told me about your past."

"Yeah...thanks Peaches."

"No worries..."

They sat in silence for a moment, before Shira spoke up. "Hey, how about we all have some karaoke fun?"

"Sounds awesome!" declared Peaches, before dashing off to round up the rest of the herd. Shira smiled joyfully, as Peaches had been right; everything had worked out for once in the tigress's life. And she couldn't be happier.

"C'mon guys, let's have some campfire fun!" shouted Peaches. Sid obediently struck two rocks together to make a spark over a pile of wood, which he quickly coaxed into a burning flame. The pirates took up their various instruments, luckily Raz was involved too, as Sid had purposely set up the fire near the entrance of her cave.

"Alright, party time!" yelled Peaches, and the herd cheered happily.

**A/N: Credit role time! Just imagine whatever the background looks like, since I'm not sure.**

The entire herd appear, side-by-side in their various groups or partnerships, and, with no music in the background, chant:

"We've only just begun  
Hypnotised by drums  
Until forever comes  
You'll find us chasing the sun  
They said this day wouldn't come  
We refused to run  
We've only just begun  
You'll find us chasing the sun."

*music starts*

_I'm better_  
_So much better now_  
_I see the light, touch the light,_  
_We're together now_

Louis and Taz walk on, arms linked. Lauren skips up, does a twirl, blows a kiss to Louis and gives him the flirty fingers. Taz snarls and waves a fist at her, until Louis kisses her on the cheek and she blushes red.

**Josh Gad **as **Louis**

**scoobs5601** as **Taz**

**Shakira** as **Lauren**

_I'm better_  
_So much better now_  
_Look to the skies, give me life_  
_We're together now_

Diego comes on screen dancing, until the cubs tackle him. Shira pads up beside him, grinning.

**Denis Leary **as **Diego**

**Jennifer Lopez **as **Shira**

**Jason Biggs **as **Kendall**

**Zendaya **as **Hope**

**Sean Austin **as **Ranger**

**Leon Thomas lll **as **Lightning**

**Ariana Grande **as **Jade**

**Cole Sprouse **as **Casper**

**Miranda Cosgrove **as **Tina**

_We've only just begun_  
_Hypnotised by drums_  
_Until forever comes_  
_You'll find us chasing the sun_

Zeke, Lenny and Oscar appear on screen. Oscar steps away from the others and nuzzles Mikayla, who runs up to him. Kate stands awkwardly beside them, until Mikayla hugs her and Oscar licks her head.

**Jack Black **as **Zeke**

**Alan Tudyk **as **Lenny**

**Diedrich Bader **as **Oscar**

**Daniella Monet **as **Mikayla**

**Jennette McCurdy **as **Kate**

_They said this day wouldn't come_  
_We refused to run_  
_We've only just begun_  
_You'll find us chasing the sun_

Squint and Izzy spin on-screen, showing off their moves, seemingly locked in some kind of dance-off, until Flynn belly-flops out of nowhere and they scatter.

**Aziz Ansari **as **Squint**

**Kerry Williams **as **Izabella**

**Nick Frost **as **Flynn**

_Oh oh oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh oh oh_  
_Oh oh oh oh oh oh_  
_You'll find us chasing the sun_

Raz and Gupta appear dancing, Silas flying overhead, before landing and joining in the dancing. Boris also dances with them.

**Rebel Wilson **as** Raz**

**Kunal Nayyar **as **Gupta**

**Alain Chabat **as** Silas**

**Frank Welker **as** Boris**

_Oh oh oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh oh oh_  
_Oh oh oh oh oh oh_  
_You'll find us chasing the sun_

All the mammoth teens are high-fiving with their trunks and swaying to the music. Ethan pulls Peaches aside and strokes her fringe back behind her ear, causing her to turn red.

**Keke Palmer **as** Peaches**

**Drake **as **Ethan**

**Alexandra Romano **as** Meghan**

**Nicki Minaj **as** Steffie**

**Heather Morris **as** Katie**

**Jason Fricchione **as **Gator***

_When the daylight's fading_  
_We're gonna play in the dark_  
_Till it's golden again_

Manny barges on-screen, pushing Ethan away from Peaches and ushering the other kids off. Peaches sighs in annoyance, rolls her eyes, and walks away. Ellie comes up, lightly nudges Manny in slight irritation, before grabbing his trunk and making him dance with her.

**Ray Romano **as** Manny**

**Queen Latifah **as** Ellie**

_And now it feels so amazing_  
_Can't see it coming_  
_And we'll never grow old again_  
_You'll find us chasing the sun_

Granny hobbles on, closely followed by Sid, and they both dance around for a bit, until Granny gets bored and walks off, causing Sid to chase after her.

**Wanda Sykes **as** Granny**

**John Leguizamo **as** Sid**

_I'm never_  
_I'm never down_  
_Lying here, staring up and you're looking down_

Crash and Eddie hurry on-screen, slapping each-other. They stop fighting for a while and dance, until Crash bumps into Eddie and the slap-fight resumes, causing the two to bounce off-screen.

**Seann William Scott **as** Crash**

**Josh Peck **as **Eddie**

_I'm never_  
_I'm never down_  
_Live forever, forever_  
_With you around_

Buck swings in on a vine, but it breaks and he hits the floor. Diesel lands neatly beside him, laughing until he leaps at her, playfully attacking. She blocks him, and they play-fight without hurting each-other for a bit, until he chases her off.

**Simon Pegg **as** Buck**

**Anne Hathaway **as** Diesel**

_We've only just begun_  
_Hypnotised by drums_  
_Until forever comes_  
_You'll find us chasing the sun_

Kenzie and Alex appear, dancing together. Ashling comes up behind them with Rebecca on her shoulder, and Kenzie drags them into their dance. Jasper leaps out of the water and arches over their heads, earning some impressed nods and smiles.

**Romi Danes **as** Kenzie**

**Rebecca Soler **as** Alex**

**Jennifer Stone **as** Ashling**

**Nathan Kress **as** Jasper**

_They said this day wouldn't come_  
_We refused to run_  
_We've only just begun_  
_You'll find us chasing the sun_  
_The sun, the sun, the sun_  
_You'll find us chasing the sun_

Dex, Bronson and Rebecca appear, the two males dancing while Rebecca stands and rolls her eyes at them for a few seconds, before dancing discreetly on the spot.

**Jack Black (2) **as** Dex**

**James Earl Jones **as** Bronson**

**Christina Perri **as** Rebecca**

_Oh oh oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh oh oh_  
_Oh oh oh oh oh oh_  
_You'll find us chasing the sun_

Rhianne and Herbert dance on-screen, Hollie fluttering overhead, before Fly pull sthem offstage.

**Taylor Swift **as** Rhianne**

**Logan Henderson **as** Herbert**

**Genevieve Hannelius **as** Hollie**

**Miriam Margolyes **as **Fly**

_Oh oh oh oh oh oh Oh oh oh oh oh oh_  
_Oh oh oh oh oh oh_  
_You'll find us chasing the sun_

Gutt and Soto fly in ghost form above the stage, Soto snarling and Gutt brandishing his claws, before a blast from Precious sends them flying.

**Peter Dinklage **as** Gutt**

**Goran Višnjić**as **Soto**

_When the daylight's fading_  
_We're gonna play in the dark_  
_Till it's golden again_

The whole herd comes back onstage, both sets of pirates included. They all dance together, laughing and smiling.

_And now it feels so amazing_  
_Can't see it coming_  
_And we'll never grow old again_  
_You'll find us chasing the sun_

_You'll find us chasing the sun_

_When the daylight's fading_  
_We're gonna play in the dark_  
_Till it's golden again_

_And now it feels so amazing_  
_Can't see it coming_  
_And we'll never grow old again_  
_You'll find us chasing the sun_

_Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh_  
_Oh oh oh oh oh oh_  
_Oh oh oh oh oh oh_  
_You'll find us chasing the sun_  
_Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh_  
_Oh oh oh oh oh oh_  
_Oh oh oh oh oh oh_  
_You'll find us chasing the sun_

**And...yep, it's officially done! Oh my gosh, I don't even know if I'm happy or sad right now...I'm sad to see it end, but I'm happy I FINALLY gave you guys the (really long) Epilogue that I've left sitting in my Documents unfinished for what feels like roughly a year. Obviously it's not, but it feels like it has been!**

**(1) Thinking about possibly doing a one-shot of Hope copying Raz as she grows up...thoughts?**

***Gator is Ethan's dumb friend, but I called him Drake coz I didn't know his name at the time**

**(2) Yeah, I know Jack Black voiced two characters, but they were both small roles.**

**Anyway, I'm gonna go eat some Ben 'n' Jerry's ice cream, probably work through my Inbox (ANOTHER thing I've left for ages!), and hopefully take some kinda medicine at some point coz I feel all sicky :(**

**So...thanks for reading, please review and...bye for now, guys! I'll see you guys a) next time I update one of my other long-forgotten stories, b) post 'Can You Keep A Secret?' or c) get around to my next story. Bye! **

**~MusicRocks807 xxx**


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